The Amonniad: Alexander's Second Anabysis
by pauline companion cavalry
Summary: All seven books are compiled into one story.


THE AMONNIAD:

Alexander's Second Anabysis

by Alexander Alae Amon

Aria Ray Alphis

Aristander Telmizzen Esteron

Leonardo da Vinci

Minondass Electris Ketchum

Pauline Ugalde

and Zeki Cacie Mysterio

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.

1023 Rictron St.,

Pallet Town CA, 12345

Illustrations (maps, diagrams/charts, portraits) copyright © 1502, 2010, and 2011 Athena Brazion and Leonardo da Vinci. Copyright © January 2010-June 2011 Alexander Alae Amon, Aria Ray Alphis, Aristander Telmizzen Esteron, Leonardo da Vinci, Minondass Electris Ketchum, Pauline Ugalde, and Zeki Cacie Mysterio. All rights reserved.

All notices pertaining to copyright are contained within each book. If any books says that you cannot publish its contents without Hellenic League permission only applies to those books. However, as of the publication of _Operation _Resurrect, the whole of this series is within the public domain. Page one of this book begins after the Table of Contents.

Table of Contents

1. _Out _Ketching _Again: 1

1.1: A Pokemon Warning Unheeded: 2

1.2: An Organization Enters: 6

1.3: Suppose: 10

1.4: The Generals Come into Play: 13

1.5: The Truth from the Traitor: 18

1.6: Present and Judge: 23

1.7: Everyone, Everything, Unexpected: 26

1.8: Interviews, Issis, and Gaugamela: 31

1.9: Finally, It's Our Time Now: 35

2. _The _Power _Misused: 41

2.1: Intents and Desires: 42

2.2: Missed Him Again: 44

2.3. East Allies with West: 46

2.4: A Companion Falls: 49

2.5: Power in Numbers: 51

2.6: He Sent the Look-alikes: 55

2.7: Powers of Gods: 60

3. _Repeat _History _Tactics: 64

3.1: Back to Business: 65

3.2: Many an Iskander: 69

3.3: Drafter, Line-Sketcher, da Vinci: 71

3.4: Tell Truth when Needed: 78

3.5: Fall Down Dead: 87

3.6: The Match's Signs: 93

3.7: Meet Two Moves: 101

8: Change Names: 108

4. _Prophecy _Controlled: 110

4.1: Back to Things: 110

4.2: Two Meet: 114

4.3: Know Don't Tell (to anyone but one): 118

4.4: My Sword, My Shield, My Mind: 121

4.5: My Alliance, His Alliance: 127

4.6: Reunite, Inform, Reality: 132

4.7: Command, The First City, and the Crossing: 137

4.8: A Fight Riverside: 148

4.9: A Tied Battle: 155

4.10: Seeing, Getting, Draining: 164

4.11: Gaugamela Round Two: 175

4.12: Take Out, Bring On: 181

4.13: The Unmatched Move Set: 185

4.14: Alexandros Killitene: 190

4.15: Return and Massacre: 194

4.16: Love, War, Reformation: 200

5. _War _Powers _Praised: 209

Acknowledgements: 210

Son of Philip: 211

5.1: 213

5.2: 216

5.3: 219

5.4: 223

5.5: 227

5.6: 231

5.7: 234

5.8: 237

5.9: 241

5.10: 242

5.11: 245

5.12: 248

5.13: 250

5.14: 252

5.15: 254

5.16: 256

5.17: 260

5.18: 262

5.19: 264

6. _The _State _of _Power: 268

Prologue: Death and a Life: 269

6.1: The Finding: 272

6.2: The Sky God's Son: 274

6.3: Cracking the Code: 277

6.4: The Return: 279

6.5: Cut Our Beliefs: 282

6.6: Breaking Weapons and Barriers: 285

6.7: A Liar's Scars: 289

6.8: Unchanged but Changed: 293

7. _Operation _Resurrect: 296

Important Persons: 297

7.1: 298

7.2: 300

7.3: 303

7.4: 306

7.5: 310

7.6: 314

7.7:319

7.8: 327

7.9: 339

7.10:343

7.11: 347

7.12: 353

7.13: 358

7.14: 362

7.15: 366

7.16: 372

Epilogue: 377

OUT KETCHING AGAIN

(AMONNIAD SERIES ONE)

by Tracey Esteron

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.

1023 Rictron St.

Pallet Town Ca, 12345

Illustrated by Athena Brazion

Copyright 2010 by Tracey Esteron. All rights reserved.

This material's use in other books may only be done with permission from Athenian Academy Books Inc. Any other use is allowed without having to get permission.

This is Tracey Esteron's first published pokemon book, for she had begun her career on the Internet. She has been playing Pokemon Platinum and has started her training career with a Chickorita. She will enter into a pokemon contest very soon. She now lives in Pallet Town, across the street from Ash Ketchum, her inspiration to write about Pokemon in the first place.

To Ash, for inspiring me to make Pikachu a character with a leading role.

To Dawn for all the pokemon, coordination, and the architectural information about the pokemon center.

And to Alexander Alae Amon and Darius Ackisan for making a possible scenario when they'll have to cooperate, like how Athens and Sparta had done.

1: A Pokemon Warning Unheeded

Ash stared at the man across the battlefield from him.

He was taller than Pikachu had described, about six foot six, maybe more. He had about neck-length blonde hair. His skin was tight against his long thin bones, with a perfect and yet battle-scarred face.

His eyes were the thing that scared Ash, being a blue-grey color that reminded him of a thunderhead mixed with a bright sky. There was more blue than grey, as bright as the most beautiful blue sky he had ever seen, while the grey was as dark and ominous as the most severe thunderstorm he had witnessed.

There was a third element mixed in, a kind of shiny reflectiveness that ringed his eyes in an intense light. Ash couldn't locate its source. Did it come from the grey color? The blue color? They seemed to bathe everything they looked at in the same intense light that ringed them, as if his mere look could burn.

He was dressed in a long robe, which Misty had told him was called the Mitra. Only Persian kings wore that, and this man did not look Persian. He was Macedonian.

He had no pokeballs hanging from his belt like him, but it was pretty impressive, with Greek letters carved into the leather. He had a watch-like device on his left wrist. It had an oval face that was a digital watch. Around the poketch, there was a band of a shiny metal, but was it silver or gold? He flipped the poketch shut, revealing the lid, which had a blue-grey symbol in the center.

"So, are we going to battle or not?" Ash started at his voice. It had a strong accent. He distinctly remembered that Pikachu had warned him about this trainer. "He has a Greek accent so you might want a translator. He's Macedonian though, so don't ever call him Greek. He's smart Ash. He's brilliant at finding your pokemon's weaknesses. Don't ever forget what I'm telling _you." He remembered he hadn't asked the trainer's name, and as if he had read his mind, he replied, "I am Alexander, son of Philip. Alexander Alae Amon. You first."_

_Ash needed a pokemon that could top any of Alexander's easily. The battlefield was flat, so there was no advantage provided by the ground. He threw his first pokeball. "Go Bulbasaur!" His grass-type pokemon came bursting out of its pokeball, poised and ready for battle. What's Alexander going to choose,_ Ash wondered.

He was stopped by feeling an unexpected strategic headache when he yelled in that strangely intimidating accent, "Azelf, I choose you!"

Ash's heart sank. Why did he have to choose the perfect pokemon? There may be no type advantage, but Azelf looked much better trained. Its legs were bent, ready to attack from any angle.

He suddenly remembered another one of Pikachu's warnings. _"He's only lost three battles in the past year."_

_He pushed this thought aside, and he took the initiative._

_"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur unraveled leaves from the plant bulb on its back and started to lash them at Azelf. _

_Alexander didn't do anything that Ash had expected since he did not even attack in response. Instead, he said quietly, "Azelf use Agility then Counter." Azelf dodged the leaves by running around in circles around Bulbasaur. Then, she attacked him with the same attack from the flank. "Bulba!" it screamed._

_"Bulbasaur do it for me! Vine Whip!" A long vine came out of Bulbasaur's plant bulb. It spun it around and around, attempting to catch and tie up Azelf. What will he do now?_

"Use Psybeam and don't dodge!" Alexander yelled. Rainbow beams didn't shoot from Azelf's eyes like what Ash saw with Sebrina's Abra, but a long white beam of energy channeled itself from her body, and it crashed into Bulbasaur. It was probably more powerful than Abra's too. Bulbasaur fell over, dazed, eyes unfocused.

"Come on, snap out of it!" Ash shouted. "Azelf's no match for you! Use Bullet Seed!"

"Azelf-" Ash didn't catch Alexander's last word as it was in a language he didn't know. "Dexter, can you translate?"

The pokedex did not only know about pokemon, but it could translate foreign languages into English. It replied, "He is speaking ancient Greek. He said, "Azelf use Assist." _Why, Ash thought miserably. I'm going to lose! He's been training for only a year, and I've been doing it for nearly five._

_"I was expecting a harder battle from you Ash, considering what you've done. I said that we could use at_ _least_ one pokemon. I didn't say you couldn't use two."

His eyes seem to brighten as Ash was mentally cornered. The pupils widened, penetrating into his mind, making him unable to think. _ "His eyes can get this kind of brightness, prohibiting thought. He first developed it when he met Demosthenes, it made him nervous. His best weapon is intimidation." Why didn't I remember that until now? Ash scolded himself inwardly. I'll never win!_

"Yes." Alexander's smooth voice cut through his mental blockade. "Your little friend's warning wouldn't have helped you, even if you had heeded it."

Ash began to reach for another pokeball, but he stopped, his hand only an inch away. Why did Pikachu say that Alexander had met Demosthenes? He was from 2300 years ago. He thought for a moment, trying to find the scraps of information about history that he already knew. He had traveled to Pella, and he had met Philip II, a Macedonian king, to talk about peace terms between Athens and Macedonia. Several years later, Philip had been assassinated, and his son, Alexander, had to deal with the orator. Ash began to piece it all together. This man, Alexander Alae Amon, could not have met Demosthenes. On the other hand, considering the fact that we know Athena and people from the Iliad, this is not very outrageous.

He took another good look at Alexander. What had Plutarch and everyone else said about him? They had said that he was short and that he had blonde hair, which was, very often, described to flow to his shoulders like a lion's maine. He did not have a heavily built face or body like his father since his features were fine. He was fair, confirming what the accounts told again. As Peter Green had said, "His eyes were odd, one being grey-blue and the other dark brown."

Ash looked up, and he saw that this was true as well.

This can't be him. He was dead. He is dead. Alexander met his gaze and smiled. "Yes Ash. I am Alexander the Great. You have no need to confirm that with anybody. Zeus and Hades brought me here. Now do you see why battling me is futile?" Ash did not respond. "Of course, you do see."

Looking down at his belt, Ash chose another pokeball. "Squirtel, go! Use Rapid Spin!" His turtle pokemon came ready for action. Squirtel started to shoot water and spin at the same time. Azelf was knocked off her feet.

"That's what I'm talking about! Now use Skull Bash, and Bulbasaur use Solar Beam!"

"Azelf assist!" Azelf did something weird and unexpected. She stood there and stared at the two charging pokemon. Suddenly, they both fell at her feet, asleep.

"Advance Espeon! Use Dream Eater, Azelf Assist once more!" Ash watched as his sleeping pokemon shuddered as half their HP was depleted, healing Azelf and Espeon. It hit him, a hammer blow to his strategy. Alexander would count on Azelf to use Hypnosis, to put his pokemon to sleep and to drain their HP. His risk was whether Azelf would use Assist to mimic Espeon or not. It wouldn't matter in the end. "Azelf, Psybeam!"

Fortunately, this woke his two pokemon. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Bulbasaur Solar Beam one more time, and Squirtel use Hydro Pump!" The pokemon clashed in a swirl of water, plant fibers, and telekinetic energy.

"Agility! Camouflage!" Espeon suddenly did flame wheel, Bulbasaur yelped as it was hit by a move it was vulnerable against, and Azelf ran in circles again. "Counter attack Azelf! Finish them!"

Even before Azelf could attack, Bulbasaur and Squirtel cringed. "Yes Ash, Espeon used Future Sight on her own. It does damage two turns after the move is performed, and Azelf used assist without my orders and mimicked her, damaging both."

Ash finally realized that he should have registered Pikachu's warning. "...Brilliant at finding your pokemon's weaknesses." They must be pretty smart in order to have attacked by themselves without orders. Ash wasn't ashamed that he had lost. He had put up a hard fight, one of if not the hardest, because of the tactics used by him and his foe.

"That was a good battle Ash. Maybe you're not as weird as everybody says." They shook hands. Alexander was as smart and as sneaky as Pikachu, Plutarch, and Arrian had said and wrote. I'll change my perspective from now on, Ash contemplated as he watched Alexander turn his back and walk off the battle field. _ Will I ever see him again?_ He pondered. Ash didn't realize that he would be seeing a lot of Alexander, probably more of him than he wanted.

2: An Organization Enters

"Sign-ups for the next pokemon contests start today!" Dawn screamed excitedly. She had been waiting to win her second ribbon ever since she received her first last year with Piplup. This time, it would be much harder. When she had let the world know about her joy, she didn't think about the other people around her, sleeping.

Pikachu turned over, rubbed his eyes, and sat up, looking irritated. Like Meowth, he had learned to talk. "You woke me up from the best dream I've ever had," he muttered. "You checked the web site this early in the morning?"

"As a matter of fact, Pikachu I did. I'm going to train really hard over this next week. Odysseus will be there."

Last year around June, Dawn had to read _The_ _Iliad_ and _The_ _Odyssey_ for a school project, and she found that nearly all the characters had come to life: Achilles, Odysseus, Telemachus, and all the Greek gods. _ Why has my life suddenly become so strange?_ She asked herself, as she heard someone open the bedroom door. May came running in, out of breath.

"You have to get down to the Pokemon center," she gasped. "Sign-ups are now. I woke the others, even Alexander. Not Ash though." Dawn sighed, pulled Pikachu out from under Ash's covers, dragged Ash out of bed wondering if he should dress decently first, and ran down the stairs. This was exciting. It always was. she had entered a few contests before and even had won a ribbon, but not with such hard competition.

Pikachu withdrew one of his three pokeballs from his belt. Recently, pokemon that were smart and literate enough could become pokemon trainers. "Eevee, go! We have to get down to Nurse Joy's before the spots are all gone!" Eevee, the pokemon that looked like a white dog with pointed black ears, nodded.

"You know, how about we let Darius figure out that we're leaving when we've already left?" Someone had snuck up on Pikachu as he had head out the front door. He jumped; wasn't this the same trainer who battled Ash? When he had described him to Ash, he had just seen a photo of Alexander. He was exactly like the photo he had found online accept ten times more awe-inspiring.

"I know, I know. A little unexpected huh?" Alexander's question was innocent, but yet with that accent, that smooth, quiet and loud accent, it seemed to make him think more than he should.

"Yes it is, I hope Ash didn't get jittery when he saw."

"Oh he did, very much so. Come on, you don't want to fight me for a spot later, do you?" He put Pikachu and Eevee in his backpack and ran to catch up with May and Dawn.

Pallet's pokemon center was in the middle of town, beside City Hall. It had a wide facade supported with two white marble Greek doric columns, slimmer at the top than at the base. Various pokemon were carved and painted in reliefs and portraits on the columns. The center had renovated to make it look like a Greek building. It had a statue of Apollo with a Chancy at its feet in the lobby. Pikachu stepped smoothly up to the front desk.

"I'm going to enter into the Pallet Pokemon Contest," he said to Nurse Joy. She smiled at him.

"Anything for you Pikachu. And what pokemon will you be using?"

"Eevee, Bidoof, and Chingling. Did Dawn come by yet 'cause if she did, I have no chance at finding her."

"Oh she's upstairs, preparing to train. Ash, May, and Misty are there too." She glanced at who was carrying Pikachu. Alexander stared back. "Wait Alexander!" she exclaimed. "I knew you would come! I've seen your routines on TV before several times and they're some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

Alexander blushed; obviously, he hadn't gotten this embarrassed by Nurse Joy before. "That wasn't as easy as it looked. It took lots of practice-" "And watching how May does it!" Eevee cut in. "I have to admit, they are pretty cool to watch."

He nodded. "I'm entering all seven of my pokemon, like I usually do. That way, I don't lose any of them."

Nurse Joy ignored his comment and put their names down. "Go right on up, then." "Let's do this," all 4 said in unison as they prepared for the long week of training ahead.

The pokemon center had turned its three top floors into about twenty large rooms per floor. The trainers could rent them out for nine dollars an hour. Alexander found Dawn deep in training with ball capsule in hand and Piplup in front of her. "Piplup, use bubble beam."

"Azelf use psybeam!" Dawn turned, seeing how the white beam of light made the water a stream of colors. "Oh, you're here. I didn't think you'd come. Your space is next door." She pointed to a door marked ALEXANDER ALAE AMON, 8:30 AM-11:30 AM.

"Thanks," Alexander noted, as he pushed the door open. The room was about 40 feet square with a thirty foot ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered one of the walls, offering a beautiful view with no need for artificial light. "Okay, everyone come on out!"

Six flashes emitted from the poketch on his wrist, releasing his other pokemon; Tertwig, Milotic, Exeggcute, Espeon, Pachirisu, and ah, Andalexrae.

Andalexrae was a new species of pokemon that Alexander had caught after he found out about them from Professor Oak. Andalexrae was half his height, with a sword pointing up above its head that was attached to the back of its neck. Sword-like appendages ran edge-up down Andalexrae's arms from shoulder to elbow, with spikes projecting up at a 45 degree angle on the insides of its wrists so if it had its palms up, the spikes would be pointing up. The same sword-like appendages on its legs from hip to knee. Its feet were like that of a normal person's, with marks on them that looked like sandal straps. It had a light skin tone and it looked human but for the swords.

"Let's do this everyone. Azelf Agility! Tertwig Bullet Seed! Milotic Clamp!"

He continued in this way, trying out different move combinations. Azelf and Exeggcute? No, too similar. Milotic and Espeon? Maybe. He looked at two of his pokemon. Both were looking up at him with the same expression: _When will we go?_ "Okay Parisu, Andray. Pachirisu use Charge, Andalexrae Meditate." Both pokemon stood poised, Pachirisu lighting up, Andalexrae becoming dark. "Charm, Safeguard." Light radiated from both pokemon, making a luminous wall between them. They could tell their trainer was becoming more confident.

"Block, Psycho Cut!" The air around the room shimmered, making a reflective barrier that would prevent opponents from switching out or fleeing. Psycho cut cut like a knife down to the floor, fragmenting and making a bright arc. "And finally guys! You're doing so well! No offense everybody. Discharge, Night Slash!" Pachirisu's beam of electricity arched along with Andalexrae's, crossing it. It made a contrasted cross in the center of the two attacks about ten feet high with a five foot width. All three of them, pokemon and trainer were standing around it, looking up reverently like an insubstantial monument.

"Everyone, I need voter's approval for me to use this routine. Yes thumbs up, no thumbs down. A sixty percent majority is needed to approve the routine." The voting didn't take long. Everybody but Tertwig voted yes, but when he saw everyone's thumbs up, he sheepishly changed his mind. "Okay, we're doing that then!" Alexander exclaimed. "For the next week, we train for the Battles and the Appeal round if I get there."

"Of course we'll get there," Milotic said. "You're the best trainer ever!" Alexander, Ash, Dawn, May, and Misty weren't the only people working hard for a ribbon, but Jessie, James, and Meowth, the Team Rocket trio, were too.

"You think he passed on our information well enough?" Jessie asked as she paced through the boss's empty office, brushing her long blonde hair out of her face. Giovanni had left them in charge again, with hopefully better results than their gym leadership at Veridian City.

"That yellow twirp is extremely reliable, considering that at first we signed up on the Alexandria Webate site to hopefully get some information. He's in the palm of our hand. All we have to do is steal more pokemon, enter the contest, and win!" James's shoulder-length purple hair was tied back for once.

"And take Alexander's pokemon," Meowth added. "His Azelf is especially appealing. She looks real cute, that will weaken our opponents, but she's deadly and quick, just like the Boss. He'll love her. And if we know the principles of war enough, we know that she can be used as a nice bargaining chip. She'll knock his socks off!"

"Then that won't happen to us anymore," Jessie said. They all shuddered; they had lost at least five battles against that overconfident Macedonian. He would be the perfect new recruit. But he _just_ had to choose the good side with revenge as an intent.

As Jessie and James started to plan their snatching, Meowth interrupted them again. "Wait! Don't forget that Andalexrae of his. Also powerful. We'll make a dramatic exchange: Azelf for Andalexrae."

"Perfect!" Jessie and James exclaimed. "Azelf Andalexrae are our key to riches. We'll win all our fights without any misses! We'll please the boss and get in return a lot!"

3: Suppose

It was the end of their first training day. Everyone discussed their progress as they grilled chicken in Ash's backyard. "I'm using Piplup and Ambipom, two pokemon that normally don't work together," Dawn boasted as she watched the flames go over their dinner. "Bubble beam and focus punch work so beautifully together."

"Oh yeah?" Pikachu didn't exaggerate his claims, but made them sound better, "I'm using two pokemon of the same type, Eevee and Bidoof. They've done a lot of things together before, so they have experience."

"Well, I'm using pokemon that are normally opposing types. What now?" Alexander had somehow managed to get between Pikachu and Dawn. They stared in amazement.

"Which pokemon exactly?" Dawn wondered innocently.

"I'll never tell. I'm not giving away my plans on how I'm going to conquer the world again either." That reply stunned her; but she expected it. He wasn't giving up his secret to success in the contest or in his world conquest plans. After all this time he's_ still intent on that,_ she thought as Ash, May, Misty, and Darius came stepping up to them. Darius wasn't working for Persia or what used to be Persia, but he couldn't really except he would be working close to Alexander his former vanquisher either. May had Butterfree on her shoulder, Misty's Togepi was in her backpack, Ash Tertwig on his shoulder like May, and Darius had a Skiddy in his arms. All had black hair accept Misty who had a brown-blonde mix. Ash had blue eyes, May had green, Misty dark hazel, and Darius dark brown. Fatigued but satisfied with the day's work, they managed to break up the argument once and for all. Apparently, they'd been training together away from the others.

"Hey you three are making dinner," Ash commented.

"While arguing about who's going to win the contest," May added.

"When you could be watching something interesting that's on TV right now," Darius and Misty finished. "Come on. It has to do with Team Rocket."

Alexander broke the uncomfortable silence. "Why is it that whenever something bad happens to us," he complained, "That it always involves _them?"_ Despite the fact that he had annoyed them all, he was right; Team Rocket was still trying to capture Pikachu and ever since about last April, they had been interested in Alexander too. They all watched the TV as the news reporter briefed everything.

"The hacking of the Pallet Pokemon Center's database has just been carried out. Apparently, someone managed to take the profiles of more than five trainers, all entered into the contest. These people are Dawn, Ash, and Pikachu Ketchem, Odysseus Ilium, May Sayallis, Misty Decodan, Darius Ackisan, and Alexander Alae Amon. Their names, addresses, and pokemon were taken, not any other information. The hacker, or in this case hackers, had left a code scrawled across the center's main computer: JesC, Jaims TIEM RUCKIT. This code has been interpreted to say Jessie James Team Rocket. These eight people who entered the contest today should return to the pokemon center and either write their names down on paper or drop out. Luckily, no identification was stolen."

"Drop out?" Dawn repeated. "After all the training we've done. Even though it's been one day, most of us already have a routine planned. We can't waste all that effort."

"This would have been my first contest," Darius turned to face the empty TV and scowled. "If we ever find Team Rocket again, I ought to quit coordinating and take my chances at the gyms."

Everyone was sullen, a little scared, and annoyed; Team Rocket interfered in almost everything they did. When a new person entered the Rock Circle, their pokemon-trainer music group, they had to have their electronics searched for any TR contacts. They had betrayed many of their own, giving them what they wanted for a price. Alexander had gained the ability to use ancient Greek as his language of magic, but it almost killed his friends. They had tried to kill him more times than anyone could count. Ash was another story; they had been trying to take Pikachu since two thousand five.

"What if they're not just going to take our pokemon," Pikachu thought out loud, "But capture some of us too? It's pretty likely, but why didn't they capture our pokemon when we were on break?"

Alexander always had some likely answer; he was the world's greatest military tactician, why not? "That's not their style. They like to have long fights in front of a lot of people." Everybody agreed. "But suppose that they just want our pokemon. They know that they can only take us if the person was willing enough. They could just steal our pokeballs or one of us and use them as a valuable hostage."

What were they going to do? They couldn't just let this happen. The effort and work was too much. "We'll fight for it!" Alexander said what was on everybody's mind. "We'll fight for it, break for it, maybe even flee,"

"Why didn't we let him sacrifice in the temple of Hercules," Darius added.

"All we know is in battle when we see The Great himself," Ash continued.

"We'll strike him down," said Pikachu.

"Right then and there," May stated.

"Or double the damage dealt," Misty said shyly.

"We will _fight_ _for_ _it!"_ Everybody pitched in to the lyrics of Fight for It by Launching off the Walls, knowing that it would fix their cause like two interleaved phone books. There would be no quitting, no turning back.

There was just one little problem: Alexander and Darius had fought each other for 13 years and even now they kept a close eye on each other. Someone asked one of the questions that both conquerors hoped would only come in a life or death situation. "Does this call for Macedon and Persia to work together?" Ash asked. Alexander and Darius looked across the table at their former enemy. Their civilizations had fought for almost two millennium and where Persia used to be was where they were fighting the rest of the world, including Greece.

"We'll have to work together then?" Darius posed the question and waited for it to stop hanging in the air. All looked at the pair of commanders, waiting for Alexander's response.

"Sure. Considering that the contest is in six days, might as well."

"You know we're included in that too," May and Misty added.

"So are we," Ash, Pikachu, and all their pokemon were nodding their heads all around.

"Tomorrow, it's on, Operation TR Payback is under way!" Pikachu said the sentence that starting tomorrow, would constantly be in their minds during the next week, before, during, and even after the contest.

4: The Generals come into Play

On that Saturday in Ash's living room after a long day of training, their call to action seemed pretty strong. But a day later on Sunday morning after their plan had stayed between the eight of them, they weren't so sure if they could do it. They needed to get more people into the loop so if anything went wrong, back-up would be waiting in the wings.

"We need more help," Pikachu suggested to Dawn as they washed the breakfast dishes. "Eight people versus three may seem fair, but what if they have comrades somewhere? Team Rocket's smart enough to get those." Dawn dried a plate while she thought his words over.

"If we're going to include people, then how many? Too many and this might leak; too little and there will be too much work among us."

Ash came through the door and suggested, "How about the rest of Alexander's former generals? They're competent enough. They're also almost always available." Dawn nodded, picked up the phone, and called the five of them.

In about ten minutes, five men in about their mid twenties came walking in. Ptolemy and Perminion had brown hair with blue-green eyes while Perdiccas and Craterus had auburn hair and honey-colored eyes. Hephaistion was different from everyone else as he had red hair and olive green eyes.

"We know about Operation TR Payback from your call," Ptolemy notified. "And I agree; why is it that everything bad in our lives involves _them?"_

"This is annoying," Perminion observed, "But unsurprising. They would have done this eventually, but just in a different way."

"What do we have to do?" asked Craterus.

"Just do some reconnaissance," Pikachu gave them their mission. "And keep an eye on the Macelepalen Eye."

"Who are they?" Hephaistion asked.

"Your friend and former enemy of course. You get over to Alexander's place and tell him we've got you into the loop."

"Already here." Everybody looked at Alexander's slender figure in the doorway.

"Why are we being let in so soon? Isn't there any paperwork?" Perdiccas asked.

"No. Everyone here, especially me, knows you. You already swore on the river Styx you wouldn't betray me. It's done. We need one more thing settled, though."

"What Alexander?" Hephaistion posed.

"We need a cool set of gear! I can provide that!" Everybody laughed; Alexander was always good at getting things that weren't exactly important on to the top of the list of priorities.

"We need a list of people. I'll write," Ash supplied. Craterus took a tablet of wax from his pack and settled it on the table.

"Oh, we also need seals for everyone," Alexander quickly remembered. "I have one already; why not everyone else?"

Odysseus, with his pale blonde hair and bright sapphire eyes always looked quizzical. He had come in and he hadn't spoken up until that moment. "Let's do it; we'll be called the Macelepalen Eye." Everyone signed their name and drew a simple but unique seal with the stylus on the wax.

MACELEPALEN EYE

Ash Ketchem (a capital A with a capital K below it inside a circle)

Pikachu Ketchem (a capital P with the inside shaded in and a capital K on the right with a line connecting the bottoms of the two legs on the K)

Dawn Ketchem (a circle with a smaller circle inside with a horizontal line going through them)

May Sayallis (a lower case m with an upper case S below it inside a triangle)

Misty Decodan (a capital M and a capital D with the D on the right. The two letters are connected in the center. The line where they touch is topped with an up-pointing arrow)

Odysseus Ilium (a capital O with the capital I going down the middle of the O. They are inside a parallelogram)

Darius Ackisan (D is capitalized and shaded and the A is a shaded triangle with the typical two legs and is below the D)

Perminion Seeit (a lower case p has a lower case s on its right with a right-pointing arrow below them both inside a square)

Ptolemy Laeggis (a lower case p with a lower case l on the right inside a square)

Perdiccas Testit (a capital P has a cross below it which serves as the that. They're inside a circle)

Hephaistion Furissa (a capital H has a capital F below it. There is an up-pointing arrow on the right of the two letters. They're inside a tall rectangle)

Alexander Alae Amon (three capital A's with two of them on the bottom and one on the top. The upper parts of the A's are shaded and they are inside a square)

Craterus Astyagia (just a capital Can inside a triangle)

"It's official then," Alexander proclaimed. "The Macelepalen Eye is going to send out Ptolemy and Perminion to hack Team Rocket's computers." "Yes sir," they responded simultaneously. "It's so great to have an intelligence team again," Alexander recollected. "I didn't think that would happen again. Now, I can send out advance scouts just like old times. But it's for a different purpose; information and to put down a revolt. It's up to us; who knows what they're capable of? They could turn from a somewhat pathetic trio of would-be criminals into a discrete, professional group of pokemon thieves. It's so unlikely that will happen, but it could happen. We really need to intimidate encourage, be awe-inspiring-" "Not again," Pikachu interjected. "Execute the action," he said.

"Be quick on your feet," Odysseus recited.

"To conquer an empire, see me in battle with my smile," Darius continued nervously, knowing what was going next.

"All this greatness is in my genes," Ptolemy went on.

"Inherited from Zeus," Dawn and Ash said the lyrics by heart.

"To make _my_ _traits."_ How is it that whenever we meet up and make significant advances in the investigation, we end up reciting lyrics to a song?"

"Well it's true we need to do all those things," Darius pointed out, "We need to be quick, deadly, and smart."

"Well let's be those things and get to work," Alexander commanded.

"Yes sir!" Everyone rushed off to carry out their orders.

"When will we meet up again?" Pikachu asked.

"No need to meet again," Alexander responded. "We all know what we need to do." So the Macelepalen Eye meeting dispersed, not knowing that though they all signed with their seal, it didn't mean much to one person who signed it.

Pikachu picked up the phone and dialed a number. "They all did what you thought they would do," he said fearfully. "Happy James?"

"Very much Pikachu," a voice said through the receiver. "We won't need you anymore. Just make sure to keep an eye on Alexander; he's a smart character. He'll latch onto suspicion like a leech to skin. He'll accuse one of the other members that they took everything. You are relieved of your duties."

"You just said that I had to keep an eye on him," Pikachu stated.

"You do that naturally do you not?"

"Yes," he replied tentatively.

"Just keep this between us will you? You don't want our promise to be carried out." Pikachu shook from head to foot at what Team Rocket had warned him that they would do to Ash if he didn't comply: "Give us what we want or your trainer will be gone with no way to find him again." He thanked James and hung up. He felt the guilt like a knife through his tiny brain; he couldn't tell. Team Rocket's threat was empty; but what if it was real? They would capture if not kill Ash. _ I have to tell Alexander,_ he told himself. But he recalled another ultimatum: "Tell that tall false leader of yours and him, yourself, and Ash will be hanging from an airplane full of explosives, with no way to ask Zeus for help." "I'll tell Alexander," Pikachu spoke to himself, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty kitchen, "Even if we end up being killed. _ Better be safe and expose myself than getting shocked to death. I have to. On Friday. No matter what happens as a result."_

5: The Truth from the Traitor

"Guys!" Ash yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "The contest is gonna start in one and a half hours! We have to get past the traffic! Hephaistion, can you get Alexander out of the bathroom please?"

"Already done," Hephaistion called down. Pikachu, Dawn, Hephaistion, May, Misty, Odysseus, and Darius came filing down the stairs. All were dressed in their best clothes, which didn't mean anything formal. Not by a long shot.

Ash was wearing a clean pair of black pants and a silver jacket over a green shirt. Hephaistion had regular blue jeans with gold thread about every three inches all around with a similarly patterned T-shirt with his seal in the middle above a pair of glasses. Pikachu had silver on his jeans, a tunic as a "Greece tribute" and a silver cap that looked like a helmet.

"Where did you get all that?" Ash took a look at Pikachu's finery.

"Let's just say that knowing Macedonians and Persians comes in handy."

May and misty had opposite colors: May had a white shirt and blue jeans with black vertical stripes and Misty had black pants and a blue and white patterned shirt. "Oh, you think we're stylish," Misty claimed, "Just look at Dawn and what she has." Pikachu turned to her. Dawn had grey camouflage jeans and a red shirt with her symbol, a large circle with a smaller one in the center with a line through them, drawn in the middle in rhinestones.

"That's beautiful, Dawn. But why do that now? The presentation starts in almost two hours. There's a surprise thing first, but they're giving the coordinators time to dress there at Daedalus Stadium."

Dawn shrugged. "Might as well do it now, I want to give my pokemon a prep-talk."

Darius was in full Persian attire; a pair of trousers with a long shirt over it, both green with silver stripes, it was just that the trousers had vertical stripes and the shirt horizontal ones. Odysseus was dressed in a similar way accept he was garbed in a chiton with the same pattern. His blonde hair was inside a ski cap who's rim was gilded.

"Like the cap," Misty looked over Hephaistion's shoulder at it, "Let me guess: a gift from your mom?"

"As usual, right, but no. This is from my mom, but she said it didn't fit her so she gave it to me."

"I wouldn't have guessed," Misty muttered.

"Where in the name of Veridian is Alexander?" Pikachu wanted to know.

"Look above you," That same accent calmly responded. Everyone looked up at who was at the top of the stairs and all gasped at once.

Alexander had black jeans, nothing fancy. His shirt was also black with his seal, three A's stacked on top of each other like a pyramid in the center in gold thread. On his wrist, was the same poketch that Ash had seen. Up close, he could see that the rim of the poketch was gold. But there was something astonishing and from antiquity about everything else he was wearing: he was wearing armor. He had bronze greaves on his legs, bronze-tipped sandals on his feet, and a cuirass, a breastplate and a plate over his back on top of his shirt, with his insignia raised on its surface as well. He had a helm on his head: black on the back, silver on the sides with gold wings extending from the sides, and a circlet of gold on the top.

He gave us a look through his face guard that clearly meant "What? I dress like this a lot." Dawn stammered, "How? What? When?"

"This? Well first, I got this from Philip. When I told Zeus I would be a half blood military commander, he gave me this stuff. This is the armor I wear when I go into battle. I got this last year around my birthday. Zeus said that he had been preserving it, waiting for me to come back. Let's get to the contest."

Just the walk from Ash's house to the stadium was really fascinating and embarrassing. People admired their fancy clothes, especially Alexander's armor. Someone called out, "Are you going to watch your troops do drills or enter a pokemon contest?" He answered back, "Both." That person looked surprised, hoping that his question would annoy him. When it did not, he walked away.

Daedalus Stadium was a marble building with a retractable roof. It could seat up to ninety thousand people, but it had two overflow areas, each big enough for fifteen thousand people next door. Everyone went into the registration room, showed Nurse Joy their qualification papers, and waited back stage. Out in the stadium, the place was shaped like a half-circle, the seats forming the curved section, just like a Greek theater. Not much sound enhancement technology was needed since sound bounced off the walls so nicely. "I, Judy Saymodan, am proud to present Pallet's fifth pokemon contest!" said the referee into the microphone. "There will be four rounds: the Visual Round, the Team Round, the Battle Round, and the Appeal Round. The first round will be carried out today and the Team Round will be tomorrow morning. All proceedings will be after the opening ceremony which will take place now."

"Opening ceremony?" Ash whispered into Dawn's ear.

She shook her head. "I don't know what this is for, but if it's happening, it's happening."

"To begin, we will bring out a statue of our patron. All around the world, the worshiping of pagan gods has supposedly stopped long ago. However, with the resurrection of the Olympians, we will honor one of Zeus's children, who is competing in our contest this year. He has since last June." A door to the stage opened, and an altar was being carried in with a statue on its top, a statue that all of the coordinators recognized. It was a statue of Alexander.

Just like in life, this Alexander was garbed in elaborate armor. As well as the poketch on his left wrist, there was a lightning bolt in his hand that spiraled up to the level of his head four feet above. He was Alexander-god of brilliance and of pokemon coordination. His features showed approval, displeasure, and impassiveness all at once. Despite all of the conflicting expressions, his mouth was upturned in a slight smile.

"Now, we will bring out our contestants!" Judy spoke into the microphone. We came walking in through that same door to the sounds of clapping. One of us, though, wasn't just surprised. Alexander's expression changed from recognition to one of astonishment. "How? Who-"

"How? You're the most revered pokemon coordinator in the world. And you're competing here. By the way, I had someone make that sculpture. To compensate for how foolishly I have acted."

He looked at Pikachu, confused. "What do you mean?" Pikachu beckoned to Judy, who gave him the microphone. _ It's time to get rid of my guilt,_ he thought as he took a deep breath.

"Alexander, Ash, everyone? I have something to tell you. Everyone here has heard of the hacking of the pokemon center's computer?"

Everyone present nodded. "Well, I'm one of those people who got their information stolen. And the day before that, Team Rocket called me. They said that I had to leak the RC's information to them. If I didn't, then you Ash, you Alexander, and I would be killed. I signed that wax with as much sincerity as my oath would allow. Please don't blame me for my ignorance. If Team Rocket hadn't met us five years ago, then they wouldn't be involved. They had entered before they hacked the computer. They intentionally left their names on it knowing that I was their escape rope. Sorry Ash, I mean it. I really do. I just didn't want you killed. I recommended you to have that battle against Alexander so Team Rocket could see what his pokemon could do. They want to steal the rest our pokemon as well."

Ash and Alexander stared at Pikachu's hurt expression. "I thought their threats were real. I believed them. I betrayed the Macelepalen Eye and the RC. Can you ever forgive me?"

Their faces changed from shock to pity. "You should have told us," Ash said gently.

"I swore on the Gods, an oath as powerful as swearing on the Styx. It can only be absolved by a god. I thought that all the other gods, even Athena, wouldn't take me seriously at all. Only one will do it free of charge."

Alexander understood their strategy at once. "And if you didn't comply," he said slowly, "they would use one of us as a valuable hostage to keep us behaving."

Pikachu inclined his head. "And you're the only one who can absolve me of my crime. You are three-quarters Greek god, and you already have ichor. You are the closest thing to a Greek god that I can access easily. Will you do it? Please?"

He watched the Macedonian's eyes soften, losing some of their reflective quality. "Sure," he gave him his awaited answer. "Take out your ball capsule."

Pikachu did so, placing it on the ground, and he knelt down at Alexander's feet. Alexander bent over him, his left hand shining. Pikachu closed his eyes. He put his hand on Pikachu's shoulder, and recited a spell in ancient Greek. Pikachu's side glowed. He did the same to his right side. Next, he laid his hand on Pikachu's and told him to repeat the oath after him. He recited the needed lines in ancient Greek as best he could, and stood up.

Pikachu's face was full of pure joy. His smile was blissful. "Thank you-" He was cut off by three simultaneous "Nos!" from across the stage.

Team Rocket, with Jessie's blonde hair and James's purple hair flying behind them, came running to meet them. James grabbed Pikachu, held him by the legs upside down, and yelled, "You broke your oath! You betrayed us! You have made it so we will never be able to capture Azelf and Andalexrae. You just had to be the good guy!"

"Yes!" Jessie and Meowth cheered him on, "Give it to him!"

"I'm not going to go down at your hands without a fight!" Pikachu smirked at James. A thunderbolt shot from his palm, making James drop him. "Go Eevee! Camouflage!" Eevee did Tackle and she knocked James over.

Pikachu saw that someone went jumping over Eevee's head, landed on Jessie and Meowth, and started striking them with elbows, knees, hands, feet, and poketch. Pikachu and Hephaistion and everyone else in the stadium stared. "Go Siviper! Wrap!" Siviper got itself around Alexander and his poketch suddenly flashed. Three pokemon came bursting out, all looking angry. "No one hurts Phoinix that way!" Andalexrae yelled, using Psycho Cut on Siviper.

"No one strikes down our commander!" Pachirisu screamed, using Discharge on Jessie's pokemon.

"And most of all," Azelf screamed, "No one gets The Great so easy!" She used Assist, doing Flare Blitz, and she blasted all of the Team Rocket members out of the retractable roof into the sky. They all called out as they flew, "Looks like we're never entering another contest again!"

Judy made the silence a little more bearable by saying, "That is a start to a contest I'm not forgetting any time soon. Pikachu, now that you are redeemed, are you still going to compete?"

"You bet!" He answered enthusiastically. "Let's get this contest started!"

6: Present and Judge

"May I do the honors?" Pikachu asked Judy.

"Yes you may. And now for our first contestant, who has made himself now not a traitor, Pikachu Ketchem!" she announced.

Pikachu retrieved his ball capsule from the floor, and he saw that it was glowing brightly. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he pressed on. "Eevee, Bidoof! Spotlight!" The two pokemon came spinning into view. "Eevee Baton Pass, Bidoof Water Gun!" A flash of light shaped like a luminescent baton that looked like it was being held in Eevee's hand was being passed through the jet of water, making a stream of rainbow colors.

"Shadow Ball, Frustration!" Bidoof started to attack the air while Eevee turned the stage dark, making it look mysterious.

"Hyper Beam, Surf!" The stage flooded, and hyper beam cut through the water, making it seem that Pikachu, Eevee, and Bidoof were standing on a checkered floor.

"Weather Ball, Razor Wind!" Eevee turned into a grass type, using Frenzy Plant, and Bidoof sent a blast of energy from its body, making a tidal wave. The crowd cheered. "Pikachu has received a score of eighty five points out of one hundred, and since a minimum score of eighty points is needed to move on, he will be proceeding to the Team Round!"

"We did it!" they yelled. Pikachu sat down in the front row where they would get the chance to watch the other coordinators.

"Our next contestant is new to this sport. He's changing what people think of people from Iraq. He is Darius Ackisan!" It was Darius's turn. He looked nervous, but he remembered how Pikachu's ball capsule had glowed, how this seemed to make him more confident, and he pictured himself with the ribbon, his very first. He called out, "Go Skiddy, go Pinsir!" Recover, Defend Order!" Both pokemon stood there, recovering HP.

"Barrage, Fury Cutter!" Skiddy and Pinsir attacked at once, struggling against an invisible enemy.

"Growl, Pin Missile!" Skiddy stood still while Pinsir shot projectiles all around the stage, making an impression that there were many more pokemon archers than there really were.

"Pound, Signal Beam!" Skiddy bashed in the skull of her invisible opponent far above her, and Pinsir aimed Signal Beam on high. They were aiming at about the same height as Alexander, so he was clearly showing that he would triumph over him with a lot of hard work.

"Excellent!" Judy exclaimed. "Darius has earned eighty eight points and will make it to the Team Round."

A couple hours later, all of the other coordinators had presented their routines. Ash, Odysseus, May, Misty, Darius, and Pikachu had proved their worth. "Our last coordinator," Judy introduced, "who has had an almost nonstop winning streak for a year, is Alexander Alae Amon."

Everyone in the stadium looked at the last coordinator. Alexander stared everybody down, giving them the same expression that had intimidated Ash. Everyone tried to look away, but they couldn't. He stepped on stage, fearing no one. He didn't do it for points though his scores were high. He did it because he thought it was fun and challenging. But don't let this fool you. He _was_ the contestant to beat.

"Pachirisu, Andalexrae, advance!" He swung his left arm in an inverted arc, releasing the two pokemon with a spinning orb of light above each, lighting them up. "Charge, Meditate!" His clear, loud voice bounced off the walls along with the light radiating from Pachirisu, which reflected off Andalexrae's side.

"Charm, Safeguard," said Alexander, recreating the light screen effect. The audience was almost silent. _What is going on,_ he wondered, a little worried. "Block, Psycho Cut!" The reflective barrier went around not just the stage, but it circumvented the whole stadium. Every member of the audience stared.

"Discharge, Night Slash!" His final call on his pokemon made the same cross design. This time, it drew the crowd's attention, not just that of his pokemon.

There was an eerie silence, then there was a deafening roar of approval from the crowd. Everybody stood, waving their arms above their heads and shouting at the top of their voices. At first, it was just indistinct words, then it solidified itself into a registerable chant. "Let's go Pella! Let's go Pella! Let's go Pella!" Every time the phrase was said, the crowd clapped a rhythm loudly. "Let's go Pella! Let's go Pella! Let's go Pella!"

As for the judges, Alexander could only identify one of them: the Pallet Town Nurse Joy. She came over to the trio, looking up at him. She looked tense. "What's wrong?" he asked, concern on his face.

"It, was the most graceful and most energetic presentation I have ever seen. The pokemon you chose were surprising. Regardless of their clashing types, they were so united in their actions. I loved it!" The other two judges, who were male, agreed.

Judy was crying with delight, microphone shaking, barely able to keep it from falling onto the floor. "No offense to all the other coordinators, but I think that was the best presentation I've ever seen. I will probably never see one that could compete in my entire pokemon contest refereeing career. One hundred points!"

The cheers came up again. It was almost nighttime, and much had happened, much business taken care of. Tomorrow, the Team Round would begin. Time to explain some things first.

"That was so awesome!" Pikachu ran up to Alexander and embraced him. "And I'm just wondering, why was my ball capsule glowing?"

"Let's just say it was payment. You were the first person to get the Blessing of Alexander."

Pikachu gaped. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a Greek god, even if I am not a complete one, aren't I not? I can do that. Let's rest up for the Team Round. It'll be tomorrow. You'll really need it."

7: Everyone, Everything, Unexpected

The following day, the contest resumed. "These contestants will go on to the Team Round: May Sayallis, Pikachu Ketchem, Alexander alae Amon, and Darius Ackisan! All the contestants that competed but didn't get to the Team Round will receive a statue of two of our contestants who led Alexander on his way: Hephaistion Furissa and Aristotle Tracspect." About twenty other people came on stage to get their awards. None looked sad, but all were honored. "I'm just glad I made it," Ash said. "We'll have better luck next year." All nodded and walked off.

"Now," Judy announced, "it's time for the Team Round. The coordinator's task: to create a supposed route, in riddle form, to any place. It can be real or fictional. You may take its inspiration from anything. You have forty five minutes. You will be scored out of one hundred points on originality, participation among all of the trainer's pokemon, use of time, and trainer leadership. Each of these trainers will have their own research space. The judges and the audience will be able to see your progress. Begin!"

All the trainers went rushing into the office spaces provided. Darius bolted to his computer and looked up the location of Persepalus. "I know what to do," Darius proposed his plan, and everybody nodded.

"How about we start in Greece?" Skiddy asked.

"Sure." He wrote on their paper:

To get to the former center, start where the creator of the downfall began to make his destructive and cultural path, where he was inspired to start spreading his Hellenic seeds.

"How will the person get to Asia?" Skiddy asked again.

"Wait!" Pinsir grabbed Skiddy's pen, and he added the following lines.

Travel from the bicentennially dry spring that let its waters flow to only one more person to where the first Great King was beaten the first time. Journey from the seer's hometown to Tyre.

"Isn't that a little bit too obvious?" Skiddy asked Pinsir, frowning at his riddle.

"It's like a riddle, you'll have to find like five places." Everyone looked at their timer: they had 20 minutes left. They had plenty of time.

"I know how the last part to actually get to Persepalus will go." Darius took the paper and wrote these final lines.

Go from the Great king's second defeat site to his three succeeding host cities. Your destination is the one where the fire both burned and conserved.

"Finished!" Darius stuck his head out of the door and handed their paper to Judy. "All we have to do is wait for the other coordinators.

"I know what we should do!" Alexander was also confident. "We should do Alexandria. And I have a first clue already. Azelf, you do the honors." She took her pen and put down their initial line:

Begin in the Great's teacher's home city, then go to the palace of the barbarous but brilliant race where the teacher's chief student was raised. Travel to where he was taught next. Go across the waterway named after one of Zeus's children to the Great's rope cutting site.

"Me next," Tertwig took the pen in his hand:

Go to his only island siege site and then to his first siege site which seems to be in a giant sand box but yet close to a river.

Pachirisu contributed:

Go to the city of the Pharaohs, then across the desert to a brilliant patch of green with the oracle who spoke to two of The Great's idols.

Exeggcute wrote:

Return the way you came to a ridge connected to an island. It should have a natural harbor.

Espeon added one more line:

Remember this nearly rectangular city's creator by looking for the modern equivalent to his own literary hideaway.

"We have ten minutes left," Exeggcute notified. "We can hand it in." Azelf ran outside and gave it to Judy to the sounds of the cry "Let's go Pella! Let's go Pella!"

"Come on Jessie!" Meowth urged. "I have a place: Rome."

Travel to the remains of the largest empire ever made, and start in the country where the site of Troy is located. Go across the many miles, and use the bridges used to carry water pointing the way. Go until you see the tomb of the person jealous of the Great.

"The twirps won't know what hit them!" Jessie exclaimed. "And good thing we're done too, there's only five minutes left." They raced onto the stage, waving their paper.

"And moving on to the Battle Round will be?" Judy made known, "Alexander Alae Amon with ninety five points, Darius Ackisan with ninety points and Jessie Snatcher with ninety seven points!"

All three of them stared at their competition. "Well I made it," Darius said.

"So did I." Alexander was forceful.

"I made it! Made it! I am gonna win it!" Jessie bragged.

Alexander and Darius stared, confused. Then, one of them recognized first her name and then her face. "Jessie? Wait, I thought I blasted you into the sky."

Jessie sneered at him. "Let's just say that I used strategy and I kept a parachute with me. I entered in by bribing the guards. Thanks to you they knew me, so that was the only thing I could do."

He finally realized why they put their names on the computer: they knew he would go looking for them. He would want a fight and Jessie knew that too. "Forget the normal Battle Round!" she shouted. "All three fight for the ribbon. Siviper go!"

"Azelf go!"

"Skiddy do it!" All three coordinators stood and Alexander called, "Psybeam them!" Two beams of light came speeding toward Skiddy and Siviper.

"Smoke screen!" The beam dissolved into misty light.

"Barrage!" Darius was attacking Azelf from behind.

"Assist!" Flames engulfed the stage, paralyzing Siviper and burning Pinsir.

"Wrap them!" Both opposing pokemon were fighting against Siviper now.

"Defend order Pinsir! Pin Missile at Siviper!" The pokemon archer went to work, shooting along Siviper's length.

"Andalexrae Night Slash!" That call shook the stadium, and the stage itself seemed to quake with the command. "Azelf, Counter Attack and Assist!" She mimicked Andalexrae and brought Siviper down. "And now? Safeguard, Meditate, Psycho Cut!"

"Fury Cutter!" The two pokemon collided, trying to hit the other.

"Signal Beam! Pound!" Azelf shuddered as she was getting hit.

"Assist!" The psychic pokemon did an attack no one expected, Attract, making Pinsir go for Andalexrae instead. "Psybeam! Agility!"

"Recover."

Alexander couldn't believe it: recover? _How could he forget!_ "Defend Order! Growl!"

"Pachirisu go Block! Charm!" Darius looked shocked: _his vanquisher might win, again._

Then, Jessie did the unexpected. "Siviper poison tail! Not Azelf, _him!"_ Someone came rushing at Alexander and he fell to the ground, paralyzed.

"Fury cutter!" Darius heard a gasp that he could just tell meant, "Night Slash, Psybeam." Siviper went flying as Azelf and Andalexrae stood aside. "Discharge!"

"Fury Cutter again Pinsir!" There was another clash of pokemon fighting. Then, something that would never happen to Alexander happened: Andalexrae was felled by Pinsir. "Counter, Assist! Return Andalexrae." Azelf attacked both pokemon, not caring that her companion was down and out. She was fighting for him.

"Pound, Signal Beam! Recover, Growl. Pin Missile!"

"Assist again!" There was a flash of movement and a cry of dismay: in using Assist, Azelf had used Caller Spin. It allowed her to attack without being affected by stat changes. Pinsir flew across the stage and crashed against a wall.

"This is incredible!" Judy declared. "This is the first time that this has happened!"

"Jessie-" Pikachu, who had watched not speaking during this whole thing translated the ancient Greek just enough to make out "Paralyze." He shouted this up to Judy. Jessie froze along with her pokemon and she was carried out of the stadium.

"Pinsir return. Skiddy Barrage, Pound, Recover!"

"Psybeam!" Despite the fact that the attack was strong, it wasn't enough to defend Azelf.

Time to finish this. "Barrage one more time!" Azelf went airborne and then lay still.

"This is unbelievable!" Judy shouted. "Alexander the Great, former king of Macedon, has lost his fourth battle, and his first to Darius Ackisan, king of the Persians! However, since both coordinators and teams of pokemon fought valiantly, they both receive a contest ribbon."

The two coordinators stared out at the crowd. "You're serious?" asked Skiddy.

"I'm as serious as there are as many songs on Itunes, and that's pretty serious."

"So we'll be working together on more stuff hey?" Alexander asked Darius.

"Guess so."

"Don't guarantee that I'll follow you all the time." Darius was a little disappointed, but he expected it. They graciously were presented with ribbons, Darius's first and Alexander's sixth. The only thing left to do was to get back to Ash's house to celebrate, not just one winner, but two. They weren't the only ones who got what they wanted, though. Pikachu also redeemed himself the previous day, so all three would be congratulated on that glorious Saturday night.

8: Interviews, Issis, and Gaugamela

More than five happy and hyper trainers came running out of Daedalus Stadium, two waving ribbons high above their heads like flags. "We won! We won! Eureka! Go Iskander! Darayivaush! Why are we using the Persian versions of our names? I don't know! Let's get out of here!"

A reporter rushed up to them. "How does it feel to get ribbon number one?" She asked Darius.

"Awesome, awesome, great!"

"I'm just proud of him!" Alexander exclaimed, high-fiving Darius. "Let's party at Ash's place. Before-"

As soon as the group of friends exited the stadium, a swarm of people rushed up to them. Most had cameras, but others were just normal trainers and coordinators who didn't make it into the Team Round. Before anyone took any pictures or asked for advice, they performed the prostration, bowing and lying facedown on the ground, wanting their ball capsules and poketches blessed. Alexander and Darius complied with all of their requests.

People even asked Ash and Pikachu for advice. "Here's something: do what you need to in the Visual Round as long as it follows the rules." Ash said.

"Train your pokemon well and if you end up in the Appeal Round with Alexander, good luck."

"Truly, good luck," a nasal voice called, "considering that you've fallen into another one of our cunning traps!" A cat pokemon who was biped came up to them, looking familiar, but the two trainers didn't care. They had won and since they were now allies, they could do anything together. "I have a little surprise for you," he said to Alexander, holding out his camera. "Can I take photos of you so I can commission a sculpture of you?"

"Meowth, Why would you want to do that?"

"Well, Team Rocket lost, so might as well register that you won the war."

He nodded, and Meowth pressed a button on the camer. Instead of taking a picture, it shot a thread that wound itself around the poketch on his wrist and started to pull it up towards the camera. Alexander used his right hand to grab the lid of the poketch and managed to summon his reinforcements. "Not again!" Tertwig noticed. _ I have to start another argument,_ he thought. _ Here goes._

"I can't believe that you would violate the rules of war! Phoinix won fair and square and you can't respect that?"

"Team Rocket will never play fair!" Then Meowth's voice softened, "Okay, we'll give you the poketch back. Have Tertwig there cut the line."

"Magical Leaf." The sticky thread line cut, releasing the poketch, but it wrapped itself around Alexander instead, starting at the waist.

Two more individuals came sprinting up from behind, holding cameras as well. "Skiddy Pound then Barrage." The two individuals first thought of fleeing then they changed their minds, and stayed while the thread kept tying up the world's best pokemon coordinator. Meowth pushed him to the ground while Alexander strained against his bonds. "Tertwig Bullet Seed." The seeds did do some effect, but they didn't break Alexander's bonds. They caused him pain.

"Razor Leaf." Even when using a critical hit move, the ropes held.

He decided to use Andalexrae instead. "Night Slash." Andalexrae aimed for the most dignified spot to release him, his wrist. But as the attack hit, he screamed in agony. He was bleeding from his ties.

"Now see what you've done!" Milotic scolded. "He's losing blood because of you. We have to find the central knot if there is one in this thing."

The seven pokemon just managed to lift their trainer off the ground, and they started to look for the most complicated knot in the thread. For all they knew, it was all smooth rope with no knots. "Look under his helmet!" There was a knot about three inches long by two inches wide securing his helmet to the rest of his armor and the rest of the thread.

"How about we take turns trying to untie the knot?" Azelf was finally taking a leadership role. Each of the seven pokemon grasped the knot, trying to untie it to no avail.

"It seems," Espeon said, pulling at the string, "That there's no end to this knot."

"This is just like what Alexander told us about when he untied the, what was it called, The Gordian Knot! This is the Gordian Knot! Again! In both knots, there's no visible end!"

"Well we know how he's tied up Espeon," Tertwig posed, "but how did he actually untie the knot?"

"He struggled like us," Andalexrae recounted, "then he ditched untying it and cut it with, his sword! He cut the knot with a sword exposing the ends. Then he proclaimed, "It doesn't matter how the knot is untied, but that it is undone!" We'll do that for him. But first, we need a worthy sword!"

"Oh, how about the one sitting right there?" Exeggcute pointed mockingly at a long, thin bronze blade at Alexander's side.

It had a gilded hilt with a gold alpha in its center. It had a blade about five feet long, the width equal all the way through, getting neither thinner nor thicker as you went from hilt to tip. The blade's edge was thin, sharp, and delicate yet terrifying. Azelf reached down and grasped its hilt. She gasped. Instead of pulling her hand down, the blade was almost weightless. She felt her trainer's strength, intelligence, and energy rush into her. She was like Alexander, no, she _was_ Alexander. She was The Great! She experimented with a simple stab. It went exactly where she wanted. She started to do more complicated sword maneuvers that she didn't know before. "The knot?" Andalexrae prompted.

She raised the blade above her head and brought it down in a clean slash. The rope cut like butter and as soon as the blade made contact with the thread, it snapped and the rest of the thread came ripping off along with it.

They heaved Alexander onto his feet and gave him his sword back. When he came to, he yelled, "What are you doing! This is madness!" Then, he focused on Azelf and steadied.

"You know we have company." Tertwig pointed at Team Rocket.

"You said that these ropes are unbreakable by pokemonic means!" Jessie scolded.

"Well he used a sword and that thing's blade is sharp!" James cowered as Jessie shouted louder. "We fight trainer on trainer!"

Azelf jumped on Jessie's back and tackled her before she could move a finger. Andalexrae brought down James while Pachirisu and Milotic grabbed Meowth. Jessie managed to shake off Azelf, and she pulled a dagger out from under her jacket. James and Meowth did the same, but before they could attack, they saw someone take a sword in their hand. A lightning bolt shot from the tip point blank at them, and they jumped back, feeling the energy brush against their clothes. Jessie and James and Meowth went to work, slicing and stabbing. All their blows were countered, and James even got disarmed and would have been sliced into bits if Jessie hadn't covered for him.

Then, Meowth tried something new. He took his knife, slashed and wove around Alexander's sword so close that it couldn't hit it, slid by his cuirass, and stabbed him in the ribs. He expected to see a stream of dark blood, but instead, saw a flow of gold liquid. "Ichor! The blood of the gods!" Pikachu shouted from behind Alexander. "Remember when I said he's a greek god in that respect? I wasn't kidding! Meowth Look out!"

All three pokemon poachers had numerous cuts and bruises in no time. Meowth was in the worst condition, with scratches up and down his arms and some on his face. His head was hurting from getting clubbed over the head with that sword. This time, Team Rocket didn't try to hurt Alexander, for they were just trying to disarm him. This made it easier for them to get disarmed themselves. All of their daggers had wedged edges from hitting edge to edge with him. "This has to end." James said between his teeth. He dropped his knife, motioning for Jessie and Meowth to do the same. They got down on their knees, pleading.

"Please! We didn't plan this! The boss told us to! We respect war now that we know how it's done! Just don't kill us!"

He contemplated on their thoughts. "Well you attempted to take my pokemon and me. You betrayed my friend. You made him break the oath of the Macelepalen Eye and the RC."

The group at his feet trembled with fear, and then they heard from above them, "Okay, I have to admit, using Pikachu is a good strategy. Using a usually behind the scenes person. You knew that my generals had taken an oath, so you used the next best thing." He paused. "I could have you put on trial in front of the Macedonian assembly. But since I'm feeling considerate today, I'll let this slide. I need to give you those ankle tracking bracelets though."

He took three metal bands out of his shirt pocket and strapped them to their ankles. "I'll give their cereal numbers to Officer Jenny so she can keep an eye on you." Officer Jenny was the town's police chief, and Alexander had become friends with her last May. He always got surveillance cameras and tracking devices when he needed them. They sighed with relief, stood, and walked away. The celebration hadn't begun yet, but Team Rocket, just like Darius during the battle of Gaugamela, had escaped to fight another day. Now that everything was cleared up, now it was time to celebrate with something they hadn't done in a long time: a Macedonian style banquet.

9: Finally, It's Our Time Now

As many people say before a trip, "getting there is half the fun." But that was especially true for Alexander and Darius. They were afraid of Team Rocket finding them again, so they called Odysseus's mom. She pulled up to Daedalus Stadium in a green Toyota Prius. They had both seen Athena, the goddess of wisdom before, but they were still shy and cautious around her when it came to behavior. She had jeans and a red shirt with Odysseus's seal on it, with a light bulb over that. "You said you wanted a ride," she coaxed and beckoned them in. Out of respect, they both got down on their knees.

"You know, you don't have to do that," she told Alexander pointedly. Though she looked annoyed, her grey eyes seemed to sparkle as she saw how they paid her respect. "We're technically of the same status."

"I haven't gotten used to that yet," he said in a small voice.

"But wait," he changed the subject by gesturing toward the car, "don't Toyotas have a lot of problems with the breaks, frames, gas pedals, and floor mats?"

"Well, I had this car repaired a lot of times. I can tell you about it on the way. Get in, before-" She was cut off by more people running up to them. "You should have gotten in when you had the chance."

"Not again, I hoped this wouldn't happen," Darius protested. "Don't people in this town ever leave winners of contests alone? Don't they ever do that?"

"They do, just not when you think."

"If this is how the celebrities lives are," Athena shouted over the noise of the people, "how do they go home without getting followed?"

Alexander held up a hand in a "stop, I'm thinking" kind of way. "Oh crap, he's thinking again. How did PERMINION deal with you?"

"Shhh. Get in the car, now. I'll create the distraction." Alexander and Darius buckled up in the back seat. Athena closed their doors and started the engine. Then, she put the car into drive and began moving forward. Alexander stuck his head out of his window and shouted, "You'll never take us alive! If you want us, come catch us!" He quickly closed the window, Athena swung into the carpool lane, and they sped down Speeder Drive where the stadium was located. They just had to turn left on Rictron Street, go down about five blocks, turn right onto Lead Avenue, and turn right onto Sorulian Street. But they had to get past the traffic first.

Athena barely stopped at the red lights, but thank the gods there weren't many of them. People ran on the sidewalks, following their route. "Leave us alone please!" Darius opened his window and shouted out. "We're normal people! Do you want to battle Alexander?"

Everyone who was running stopped and stood there, thinking it over. Many of them shuddered at the realization.

"Exactly. If you can please, please, let us get back home without having to apply force, that would be nice." He shut the window and watched the people following them. They weren't doing so as crazily as before.

"Thanks," credited Athena. "This will make our drive much safer and it will make it much less likely that I will have to speed."

The threesome opened the car doors and stepped out onto Ash's porch. It was designed like the pokemon center, with many bas-reliefs and sculptures on the walkway leading up to it. Above the front door, there was a portrait of Troy, accept that instead of an arrow in Achilles' heel, there was a pokeball sitting by it. Athena could tell that Alexander loved this portrait. Even now, he admired _The_ _Iliad_ more than any other book. He knocked on the door, and it flew open. Mrs. Ketchum stood in the doorway. She had black hair like Ash and his blue eyes too. He was a son of Hermes, and unlike the other greek gods, the sons of Hermes could be of any appearance.

"Oh you're here!" she said graciously, embracing the three of them. "Come in, the party's about to start. You might want to take off that cuirass, it must be hurting your back."

"Nah, it's fine. I've had to wear it much longer many times on campaign. Is Pikachu there?"

"He is, and he's doing something special for the three of you." They walked inside, removing their shoes out of courtesy, and saw that people were flooding into the backyard. Mrs. Ketchum pulled her sliding door open, and they stepped onto the warm concrete.

About fifty people were on the patio, sitting at several tables set up on the grass. A grill was going pool side. Someone ran up to the trio, eyes red and puffy. "Pikachu!" They exclaimed, lifting him into their arms together. "What happened?"

"It's," he paused, catching his breath. "I was making a dip and it involves lemon. I was trying to squeeze it and some went into my eyes." They looked understanding at him and put him down. "I have something I can tell you though," he said, pointing to a table. "All of us are sitting there. I'm grilling sausages for the first time!"

"Wait, I thought you grilled our chicken once," Darius remembered.

"Well, I didn't do that, that was Dawn's idea. This time, I'm doing it alone. I even chose ideal sides too. In honor of Greece, specifically Athena, I grilled olives-" Even before he finished his sentence, Athena and Alexander went running past him, grabbed plates, and piled them high with the fruit.

Before taking their seats, they noticed that there were three chairs of honor at the head of the table, one on its left and one on the right, at the front of their respective sides. The head chair was about five or six inches above the rest, and it was canopied. "That," Pikachu said, "was my surprise. I copied the design from the throne in Persepalus. Hopefully, it's accurate enough. Doesn't matter which one of you three takes it."

Alexander was confused when he heard three since he thought that meant Athena, but he saw Hephaistion at his side. His eyes showed wonder.

"It's just like at Persepalus. And I think we know who gets it."

Hephaistion saw his friend's mouth hang open. "Think of it like revisiting Darius's throne room."

"Okay," he said, looking uncomfortable. He walked up to the seat and slipped under its shade.

"Whoa," Athena said across the table from him, "if this is a copy of the throne in Persepalus, how come you didn't put a footstool?"

"My height increase makes there be no need of one."

"Is this how it really-" "Can we stop talking about my height and start eating? Being tied up really takes the energy out of you."

Before eating, however, everyone stood, took a sip from Alexander's cup, and performed the prostration, bowing then lying facedown on the concrete. Each performance was unique in its own right, and when Darius did it, the two former Great Kings did it for each other. "To the gods," Alexander toasted.

"To the gods," everyone echoed. They threw parts of their dinner into the fire that had made it as a sacrifice. He handed the cup to one more person. The girl he gave it to was different, for she was visually impaired. Her name was Pauline, and she was also in the Ketchum family. Sporting jeans and a shirt similar to Pikachu's, she had to be his trainer. When it came to the fact that her and Pikachu had a similar design on their shirts, she wouldn't have believed that or known that. She reached around his hand, and tried to grab the cup. "Here," he said gently, and passed it to her. She sipped his drink, set down a cane she used when traveling, and knelt, touching her forehead to the floor. She stood, a little bit uneasy and Alexander held her by the arm. "Thanks," she muttered. She was the only blind pokemon trainer in the world with such a high success rate.

"You know, you're so lucky that you have such supportive pokemon. You and Pikachu taught each other well enough that you could both be in the contest." She looked down, and she moved her hand down his arm to his elbow. "Where do you want to sit?"

"Next to Pikachu or, if I can, close to you."

"There's an empty seat that Hephaistion was sitting in that's next to me. He's already moved over. Pikachu is across the table from you. Is that okay?"

"That would be nice. Thank you! It's an honor to be even sitting at the same table as you, but _next_ to you?" she remarked as Alexander unseated himself, led her to her chair, and pulled it out for her. She reached down and as a sign of respect, kissed his hand. He returned the gesture on her forearm.

"I have to ask," wondered Darius, "why do our parties always start so formally?"

"Well you're Persian, you're not used to this."

"Can't argue with that," Ash pointed out, and Darius made a face. Ash stopped and pulled a CD from his pack. He placed it into a CD player, and he selected a song.

"There will be no rules tonight,

If there were we'd break 'em,

Nothing's gonna stop us now,

Let's get down to it.

Nervous hands and anxious smiles,

I can feel you breathing,

This is right were we belong,

Turn up the music."

Everyone pitched in in singing the chorus. "This is a dance for all the lovers,

Taking a chance for one another,

Finally it's our time now.

These are the times that we'll remember,

Breaking the city's heart together,

Finally it's our time now, it's our time now."

For the duration of the party, there would be no worries and no trouble. They would all enjoy it while it lasted. It was finally the time to celebrate, for their problems were taken care of. Everyone at that table knew, however, that Team Rocket would be back and they would be even more cunning than before.

"I have one more thing to say before we enjoy this fine dinner," Darius noted later on. "You've seen it, you've heard it, you try to reenact it."

"You really really need professional aid," said Hephaistion.

"You choose your best friend," said Ash, "To be your leader," Pikachu added.

"You could fail," Odysseus continued, "Or your outcome could be the same," Athena sang.

Alexander took the chorus. "You really need to: intimidate encourage, be awe-inspiring,

Execute the action, be quick on your feet.

To conquer another empire, see me in battle with my smile,

All this greatness is within me,

Inherited from Zeus, to make my traits."

"To trying to attain these requirements to be like Alexander the Great," Darius gave a tribute, "the rightful Great King."

"To Alexander!" everyone shouted, touching glasses.

"Time to put on another good song to wrap the pre-party proceedings up." Alexander tapped his glass, and the table went quiet. "I have a song for Pauline."

"For me?" she asked.

"Yes. You seem so tense. Come on, it's an awesome party. You're with your pokemon, and you're with me. You said that's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Girl, put your records on,

Tell me your favorite song,

You go ahead, let your hair down.

Sapphire faded jeans,

I hope you get your dreams,

Just go ahead let your hair down.

We're gonna find ourselves somewhere, somehow."

THE POWER MISUSED

(AMONNIAD Series Two)

By Tracey Esteron

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.

1023 Rictron St.

Pallet Town CA, 12345

Illustrated by Athena Brazion. Copyright 2010 By Tracey Esteron. All rights reserved.

This material's use in other books not made by the Rock Circle may only be done with permission from the CEO of Athenian Academy Books Inc. Any other use is allowed without having to get permission.

Tracey Esteron has begun her pokemon training career with a Chickoreeta, and she has entered a pokemon contest. Unfortunately, she had lost to Alexander. Oh well. She continues to write, visiting Ash to receive inspiration.

To Darius Ackisan, for giving us all the Persian army information and suggesting to make this series a lot of books that recount Alexander's life,

And to Bagoas, who isn't here with us yet, who hopefully approves of me using his namesake as a character that dies at Amon's hands.

Note: Later when Hephaistion and Alexander see Alexander's duplicates, the name and age of the person speaking accept for the current one and Hephaistion will be shown as Anumber, like A10.

1: Intent and Desire

The lightning crackled around the room. The mosaic designs of Achilles on the floor and ceiling moved in the flickering light. Just like the anger of the gods, and the hero, it was only quenchable by himself. Bolts of energy arced from every point: finger to shelf, hand to hand, hair to floor. He was surrounded in a cocoon of power, not penetrable by anyone or anything. Only a god could suppress him.

Then, the touch of another human soul got through the lightning. "Hello? You okay, you must be furious about Calesthenes."

"Don't mention that name in front of me! He has caused me too much trouble! If you weren't my best friend, I would turn you to ashes!"

"Don't have to be harsh." A week previously, Calesthenes, Alexander's historian, had broke into his house and tried to kill him in his sleep. Fortunately, Hephaistion and Pikachu had dispatched him. He had escaped, and Alexander had been on edge ever since.

Hephaistion's olive eyes scanned the glowing immortal that was his companion. His blonde hair standing up with the presence of this energy, his blue grey eyes bright and dark, his gaze able to blast the room to pieces. The eyes, dark and light, seemed to shine brilliantly. Circling the conqueror's eyes was his purpose, writtenin the thought creases around them.

"I know what I need to do," he said slowly, taking care with every word. "I'm going to find Calesthenes again, and he will be gone before you can say Thebes!" The energy field surrounded him again, and Hephaistion left, leaving his friend to his plans.

That night, Alexander dreamed of power. More power than he could ever imagine.

He was standing on Olympus, on the peak of the mountain, in the main palace. He was sitting at the base of Zeus's throne. The god stood over him, something in his outstretched hand: the most powerful weapon in his arsinal, a lightning bolt, three times as long as a man was tall. It was an arc of electricity, twenty feet long, smelling of ozone.

"You deserve a taste of this," he said, holding the tip of the bolt to Alexander's head. "You deserve what you have wanted." Zeus thundered. "You being a god isn't a strong enough position. You will stay a demigod, but you will never die. Your blood will be ichor. Every time you are injured, your power will increase. You will have no need of a sword."

Zeus placed the master bolt closer to the conqueror's palm, away from his head. "You will have this power for yourself," he said, "just not in this form. You will be able to channel it from your own body. You will be able to run into battle with a field of energy around you that if any man not of yours is standing in, will die without pain. Your thoughts can cause untold destruction within an enemy army. Even if you are fighting the entire world, you will have the strength of infinite warriors. You won't even have to fight most of the time. A shout from your lips will shatter enemy armor and weapons, and you can kill if someone hears such a powerful sound. This battle cry can cause earthquakes, tsunamis, lightning storms, fires. All you have to do is say yes."

He thought it over. I have wanted this for so long. What about my friends, part of his brain told him. An overwhelming part of his brain said, do it.

"I do want it. Yes!" he shouted.

Zeus pulled him to his feet and touched Alexander on the head with the bolt. Energy rushed through his veins. He couldn't take it. His skin was burning. He fell, then just as quickly, he rose to his feet. He noticed something. Normally, he was six foot six, but now, he seemed to be as tall as King Poros: seven feet tall. He felt stronger and in control. I wonder, he thought, what would happen if I tried to use lightning. As he thought this, a bolt of energy shot from his palm, hitting the ceiling. Then he tried again with a more powerful shaft. The marble above Zeus's head was scortched.

"Thank you," he said graciously, dipping his knees.

Zeus nodded. "And for a chance to use it," he said, snapping his fingers...

2: Missed Him Again

He was on the plain where he had fought the battle of Gaugamela.

Wait. He _was_ in the battle of Gaugamela!

He wasn't anywhere near his allies, and enemies of all cultures and arms surrounded him instead. He was disoriented more than he had been in any other part of his life. "How did I get here!" he yelled. "How do I do this?"

Then, he thought of how the gods stated their actions. "By the power invested in me, I want this battle to end!"

Everyone on the Persian side froze in horror. Then, he saw someone glance over at him from atop a chariot. It was Darius. The enemy army dropped their weapons and ran.

"Run, those who throw torches upon Athens, run!" he yelled. He started shooting bolts of lightning left and right. At first, the infantry tried to get on horseback, but then they were more visible. They let the horses die, and they ran first in groups facing forward, then back to back.

The Macedonians were gaping in awe. Then someone shouted, "He's winning the battle for us! We don't have to risk our hide! I could get used to this!"

"Yes!" The rest of them agreed. There was a signal from their commander, and their Companion cavalry swung into action. Alexander was running in front, somehow faster than their mounts. Lightning continued to stream from him, the bolts' light reflecting off many a breastplate.

"Forget winning the battle," another soldier shouted from across the battlefield, "we have to protect the king! The Macedonians are heading this way!" They shouldn't have said that, the demigod thought as he spotted his target: an ornamental chariot surrounded by the 10,000 Immortals, kinsman cavalry, and Applebearers, so named because of the gold apples on the ends of their spears.

First, he saw hundreds of gilded spear points, then individual men, then something happened. The points gave weigh, all the spears dropping to the ground. The chariot was in front of him.

"Yes!" he screamed, letting his voice bounce off anything around the armies. "He's mine!"

Then he looked inside the chariot and saw the reality. The chariot was empty. Even though this is my first use of my abilities, he thought, feeling a flush running up to his face, _why isn't fate with me?_

Then, like an answer from the heavens, he felt pain in the left side of his back. Someone had thrust a dagger into it. He felt the pain, but not a flow of blood: ichor ran down his cuirass instead.

There was a scream of joy from behind him.

"He's wounded! I'll take him!" A heavily accented voice was shouting from behind his back.

"You!" Alexander couldn't believe it. He had been wounded by Darius, his enemy. He had snuck out of his chariot, come up from the rear, and stabbed him. He spun around and slashed his arm like he was holding a sword. The arm was surrounded in a sleeve of lightning. Darius's sword clanged as it fell, and he looked at his left palm. There was no hand or fingers. There was only a sword, extending out of his wrist to a length of six feet. He slashed again. Darius' armor melted as the blade and the energy hit it, melted, and ran down his legs. Then, Alexander sliced at his neck, and Darius fell at his feet, blood and liquified metal spilling down his brestplate.

He was shocked. His own generals didn't end up killing him, but the rightful thing occurred. His enemy had felled him. He wasn't sure what he felt: astonishment, accomplishment, fearlessness? All could happen, and they _were all_ happening. He knew what his fellow soldiers thought: they were amazed, thankful, and a little bit if not very, intimidated.

"Your leader is now dead," he let known, "now who will you send from your forces to fight me? I have no need for an army, a helmet, or even a sword! I am blessed by Zeus. The god has sent me to avenge what your fathers did to Athens! Now, who will fight me!"

3: East Allies with West

The right wing of the enemy army was collapsed from his flight through it, and the center was nonexistent. The left was in tact ,and about fifty infantry separated themselves from the group. Then, five more groups of infantry separated. He saw that the men didn't stand alone, but in pairs. Young and old, tall and short, amateur and veteran fighters. Each person was overlapping shields with their partner, staying close. Could it be?

This can't be- It is! The Sacred Band! The Sacred Band was a group of three hundred soldiers who were one hundred and fifty pairs of lovers. They ate together, lodged together, and fought together. If one died, the other would fight until the last breath. They had no leader that he knew of, until then.

Two individuals detached themselves from the group. They were both Persian like Darius, but one was tall and battle-scarred, with ebony hair streaked with grey. His black-brown eyes scanned the carnage. His partner was shorter than the other man by about a half foot with light brown hair and aquamarine eyes which contrasted the features of his partner perfectly. They were similarly armed: shield, short sword, and dagger. Each had a cuirass, greaves, and helm too.

"Name yourselves," the demigod commanded.

"I am Bagoas, advisor to Darius III," the aquamarine-eyed man said,

"and I am Artaxerxes," said the other.

"You are serious?" their opponent questioned.

"We are serious," they said in unison, "but before we fight, we would like to practice a Persian war custom." Their opponent nodded and Artaxerxes removed his hand from the loop of his belt, hand clasped in a fist. He opened it and Alexander thought that the king would touch him on the chest, but he opened his palm to reveal a fine-tipped dagger. He thrust it into the cuirass, but the tip smashed into fragments when it made contact. Bagoas did the same, and the duo's daggers were useless before the duel had actually begun.

They drew swords from their sheaths and they slashed together. No blade met their strike, but a field of energy. Their swords bounced harmlessly off air and an arm thrust at them. They hoped that their two blades would take off the limb, but it cut like a sword, putting wedges in their edges. They were so busy staring that they barely had time to jump back to avoid getting slashed again. Bagoas attacked the left flank and the former Great King's vizier jabbed at the breast plate, trying to pierce it. None of their tactics got them far, but Artaxerxes did manage to lift off the bronze helm with a strike of the hilt of his sword, and he cut Alexander across the chin. He wanted to hear a gasp of pain and see a stream of blood down his cuirass, but almost the absolute opposite occurred. There was an expression of, what, expectancy, and an outpouring of gold liquid.

"Bagoas! Don't wound him!"

"Coward! He's-" He slashed and parried a strike, "our enemy! Why not wound him?"

"It's because he's, he's a god!"

"Liar! You just don't want to fight Alexander!"

"I'm serious! Ichor look!" He pointed with his sword tip. Then Artaxerxes felt a stinging in his sword arm. He looked down and saw blood trickling from the cut on his wrist. Normally, he could have just shaken off the pain, but this time, it smarted and bled. Bagoas was wounded in the same way. How? Alexander had no sword!

"Now you see how helpless you mortals are against me." He was sarcastic and calm, mocking them with having no marks on him. "I have no need for a sword or even armor. I fight with-" He pointed at the pair of them and they saw a bolt of lightning snipe at them. Both fell and their vision blurred. Pain coursed through their legs, through their greaves, and through their bodies.

"How," Artaxerxes heard Bagoas gasp.

"Let's just say that Mithra is with you no longer. The Greeks have been superior and always will be!" Artaxerxes glanced at his men. They were demoralized, discouraged, and doubtful of what he could do. He tried to let them know with his eyes that he would be okay, that Bagoas and himself would rise above the pain, the searing pain.

"Come, Sire," Alexander scoffed. "Are not two persons better than one?"

They both nodded slightly. "Then stand."

They hesitated; would they have to feel the pain as soon as they stood? "Do not be afraid," he coaxed with his quiet, persuasive voice, mixed with an accent that stressed his ts and cs and lengthened the duration of his vowels, the Macedonian accent. "Come, are you going to fight or not?"

He had been calm until now, but his face changed to sudden anger. "Fight for your country! Rise!" His clear, high voice pierced through to their brains and they unknowingly obeyed. Before they knew it, they were on their feet, swords slashing, shields blocking and taking the Great's blows again. Artaxerxes felt more cuts on his other arm and saw the invisibly edged limb come at his face. His jaw was burning. The Macedonian's fist was in front of it, clenched, for he had struck him. But the skin there wasn't just pained, but it was scorched, for the god's palm was surrounded in lightning.

Then, he saw the palm cut side first into his neck, felt a knife of pain, and fell and would never move again. Half the army shouted in dread: would Bagoas make it?

Apparently not. As soon as he got the chance, the vizier slashed under the breast plate and stabbed Alexander in the ribs on his left side. Ichor poured from the wound onto Bagoas's sword. Just the sword would be a valuable war prize, for the ichor soaked into it. It dripped onto Bagoas's hand and it burned like hot tar. His hand grew numb and his blade fell with a clatter onto the dirt. He saw the pointed finger again, and he put up his shield to try to protect himself. This would be in vain. As soon as the bolt hit the shield, the metal melted onto the man's chest, burning the flesh, and he took up his opponent's sword and slashed at his throat. He felt the cold fast blade on his skin and was still.

4: A Companion Falls

"Anyone who attempts to fight me will die in the same way as these Persians," he shouted. "Anyone?"

At first, the Sacred Band all took a step forward. They looked confident, and even the front ranks shouted paeans. Then, it seemed that all of them changed their minds at once. They turned and ran for their lives.

The part of the army that was left went too, followed by their vanquisher, whose mind set had abruptly changed. He had had some leniency with the mere two fighters, but with almost a million men? He felt different, stronger or more in control, like how he had when he had first arrived. He had taken the energy from the two opponents he had defeated and even with their iotas of energy, he felt much stronger. One million men's worth of energy? Imagine what he could do with that much power. He licked his lips, power-crazed, as if he could taste the energy swirling there.

He wanted to use all of his energy at once, so he gathered his will and laid his palms face-up in front of him, pointing his fingers at the fleeing Persians. Power flowed from his extended appendages like water from pitchers, scorching the ground around them, burning many, and crippling more. Row after row of soldiers fell at his outstretched hands.

"You're mine!" He heard the echo of his cry "Mine, mine, mine!"

The ground shook and men toppled like dominos. Several battalions died at once, grilled in their armor.

This continued longer than Alexander could recount. With every kill, every strike, every time a man fell, their vitality flowed into him. Blood flowed forth like water from popped water balloons, the ground turning scarlet. Some of their armor became molten and encased their wearers, preserving them. The smell of burning bodies filled the air. This only fueled Alexander's energy attack. He wanted this to continue for as long as possible. This is what war is, he thought. To see your enemies fall before you with such brutal beauty, to feel no regret, to do so with the sole intent of attaining glory. This is what Achilles desired. Oh, if only he could have killed Hector like this.

At some time, he had looked around to examine the battlefield. His own army was about a third of a mile behind him, gawking.

All of the Persian army was... gone.

Every man was dead.

He gazed at his handiwork, but something was wrong. He hoped that using all of his energy would make him drained, but satisfied. However, he still felt the power, that incredible power, rushing through every inch of him. How would he use it now?

He sensed someone walking up behind him. It was Hephaistion, his olive eyes shining with pride and maybe fear.

"That was amazing!" He shouted, clasping him on the shoulder. "I didn't think I would see the day! If only I could have done that too."

Alexander had intended to high five him and answer, but he felt a sudden blast of energy come from his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hephaistion fall.

"No! Why Zeus why? Why did you not tell me of this? Why do the gods have to be so cruel?" He took his hand and held it to the place right below his mouth, letting energy flow out of it and into him. He wanted to join his friend if he really was gone. He felt a tie of pain on his flesh and a voice of concern.

5: Power in Numbers

"What happened! You okay?"

It was, was it? "Hephaistion!" Alexander shouted elatedly, "you're not dead!"

"Of course I'm not dead." His friend embraced him and pulled the covers off him. "What did you dream about?"

He told him about his crazed tyrannical killing spree, his craving for power. "Well, I expected this to happen eventually. You were the type of person to have it happen. You are pretty powerful, very passionate."

He paused. "Your desires are very strong and if you want something, you don't stop at anything to get it. Even before you were claimed, you were able to cause the lightning storm that allowed you to cross the Gelum, to let you continue your conquest."

Alexander laid an arm across his friend's shoulders, glad to feel their warmth and liveliness unlike the body he had seen. "But, how do you think I had this dream?" Hephaistion's friend inquired.

"You have _always_ wanted to be recognized as being a demigod, if not a Greek god. You want to be able to fight without having to risk the lives of your army, but you also want to kill every last unworthy man in an enemy army. You kept thinking that when you got this power, you would only use it on your enemies, but fate changed it around. You end up using it on your own men. You tried to use all the extra energy you had, but you could not extinguish your burning aspirations. I think that's why you couldn't control yourself when you saw me in this dream."

He saw his fellow Macedonian's face change from being tense and on edge to being relaxed, almost blissful.

"Well, what am I going to do about-" He gulped, unwilling to say the name, "Calesthenes? I can't capture him now, not in my condition. I feel like my mind is either gone or it is being taken over with Dionysus's madness."

He shrugged. "I can't believe that I would imagine something so, so, barbaric. That's not like me _at_ _all._ Usually, I sleep with no dreams or I have dreams that are as vivid as real life. What should I do?"

Hephaistion heard Alexander's voice quiver and shake, unsure, and one of the few times in his life, stuck where he was, unable to move forward or choose a path. He didn't have his friend's wisdom or military tactics. No, he just had his ability to make sure that he made the right choice. But would he have the capability to pass this on to his best friend, who he had known for two decades?

"Do what you think is right, no matter what it may be," he said with a touch of finality.

"But what if I don't know what I want to do? I feel like how Annabeth did in the _Battle _of _the _Labyrinth when she saw Janis, staring at the two faces, unable to make up her mind." He exhaled and his face changed back to being on edge.

"Do you know what you should do," Hephaistion asked.

"Yes, I do," Alexander reached down below his bed and he brought out a small mp3 player, smooth from many a gripping. He turned it on, and he skimmed through his playlist. He chose a song by an artist that Hephaistion knew so well: Rush and Roulette by Rihanna. His voice echoed around the room, his moderately pitched voice and accent made his notes smooth.

"Take a breath,

Take it deep,

Calm yourself,

He says to me,

If you play,

You play for keeps,

Take the gun,

And count to three.

I'm sweating now,

Moving slow,

No time to think,

I'll turn to go.

And you can see my heart beating,

You can see it through my chest,

And I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving,

Know that I must pass this test,

So just pull the trigger."

He was letting the whole world: friends and foes, present or not, understanding or not, of what he felt. He was possessed by the music, and he loved Rihanna, for the topics she sung of were easy for him to relate to. Behind his closed eyes, he saw himself alone in his room, head sticking out of a window, a microphone in hand, late at night.

"Say your prayer,

To yourself,

He says close your eyes,

Sometimes it helps.

And then I keep,

A scary thought,

And that he's here,

Means he's never lost.

And you can see my heart beating,

You can see it through my chest,

And I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving,

Know that I must pass this test,

So just pull the trigger.

As my life flashes before my eyes,

I'm wondering will I ever see another sunrise,

So many won't get the chance to say goodbye,

But it's too late to think of the value of my life.

And you can see my heart beating,

You can see it through my chest,

And I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving,

Know that I must pass this test,

So just pull the trigger."

The world's most successful conqueror stopped his, what was it: a lament, a song of indecision? Hephaistion and Alexander didn't know. But they did know that it was just a song that fitted his situation. Should he fight? Stay hidden? Or should he give himself up to the madness, the mind-bending madness? "Better?" The olive eyed Macedonian asked to break through the choice-filled silence.

"I don't know, maybe, just maybe, a little bit. I'm not crazy anymore, but that wasn't even my problem." He stopped. "I know what I should do. For real. I'm going to get prior help with my problem!" Alexander was confident once more, his old planning and random self again. "What do you mean by "prior help?"

"Well, you know how I came back to life?"

"Yes."

"Why can't I bring back more of me? This won't affect their own dimensions since they should be aware of being in both worlds." A knowing smile slipped itself onto his flawless but battle-scarred face. "Oh Zeus why? Please, _please,_ tell me that you don't have a plan."

"Well as a matter of fact Hephaistion, I do have a plan. Time to use a little magic."

The friends slipped off the bed, washed and dressed, and walked out of Alexander's bedroom into the hallway. Across the hall was his parents' room. His room was at the end of the hall, perpendicular to the stairway.

The door to the left was the bathroom and on the right, at the end of the hall, was the door that led to the roof, which was surrounded by windows that circled it, thirty feet high. They opened this door and headed up the staircase to the roof and its panoramic views of the street. Closing the entrance behind them, they stood in the middle of the largest room in the house. It was about thirty feet by forty feet with a thirty foot ceiling of glass. Light filtered in making luminous figures in the air. They sat on the floor side by side.

"The only thing you need to do," Hephaistion instructed, "is make a spell that does what you intend." He watched the face alter from understanding to thought.

"Don't make it too literal. Make it metaphorical." If a spell was made the wrong way, then the spell's affect would be taken literally. For example, if you say "make me a parachute" you would be transformed. A spell didn't have to rhyme like most do, but Alexander wanted to make it into free verse. "I'm ready," he said with his confidence. "Here goes.

Oh Hecate goddess of magic,

Give me the ability,

To bring back myself,

Ages seven to thirty three,

Myself from the past,

Them I will mentor and teach,

Make them physical and alive once more,

Here in front of Hephaistion and me."

The room stayed the same. Nothing altered, not a thing.

"I don't want to see this," he said, burying his head in his lap and Hephaistion did so too. They sat in silence and they weren't aware of the changes around them.

6: He Sent the Look-alikes

The bright early light darkened, making the shapes of about twenty five forms, each of varying height. Then, the forms solidified themselves into not twenty five, but twenty seven figures, all with Alexander's blonde hair and blue grey eyes. They were copies of Alexander from when he was seven until when he was thirty three. They had different amounts of knowledge and different skills. About half were dressed merely in tunics, sandals, and wide-brimmed hats, while the rest had full body armor: cuirass, helm, shields, sarissas. One, about twelve years old, came up behind Hephaistion and tapped him on the head.

"Hello? The spell worked."

He turned and whispered to someone else: "Either they're ignoring us or they're scared out of their minds. I'm guessing it's both. Who here is from Gaugamela?" A man with full battle gear came stepping forward and laid his shield across the two friends. The two felt the cold metal on their heads and first Alexander, then Hephaistion, looked up.

"Oh, my, gods," they said in shock. "Wait, you're me! But, not me. Where? When? How? Many-"

"If I stutter in the future," said one, "then how do I end up overthrowing the Persians again?"

"Before this all gets out of hand, I'm gonna say that, I'm not like any of you. I'm, a son of Zeus, about ninety two percent Greek god." All the prior copies of Alexander stared, half in shock, and from the Siwah Alexander onward, disbelief and understanding.

"You mean, my-" He stopped, trying to figure out how to talk to himself. "You mean, our trip to Siwah was worth it?"

"Yes it was ten fold. And there are more demigods out there and this is a place where demigods can seek refuge."

"But, wait, we're not in Babylon?" A33 wondered.

"No, not even Greece. This isn't in Pella, let alone Babylon in the middle of summer. It's spring."

"Let me explain," Hephaistion cut in. "First of all, you guys are right, we're not in a place you know of. I have to tell you something: this is a part of the world you didn't know of the first time."

"The U.S.?" asked one Alexander, who was shorter than the others.

"One how old are you anyway? Two how do you know?"

"I'm seven and I know, well, just because. I'm you, aren't I?"

"Why did you bring us here anyway? If it has to do with India, _never_ _again._ I finally see why my men were threatening to mutiny," someone commented, taking his helmet off and placing it on the floor.

"I have a problem," said the current Alexander, raising his voice so all could hear. "Last night, I had a dream that I was on Olympus and that I met Zeus. He had given me the blessing to become a god, and I got his power. I was on the plain of the battle of Gaugamela and at first, I was fighting the whole of Darius III's army, all one million men, plus the Sacred Band. I defeated the leaders of the Sacred Band, Bagoas not the one related to Kyros, but Darius's advisor Bagoas, and Artaxerxes. After I defeated them, the rest of the army that I hadn't killed before went running for their lives. I finished off all of them, every last man."

"Then, he met me afterwards," Hephaistion added, "and when I congratulated him, he succeeded in killing me. We brought you all here because, well, at the beginning of all this, Alexander was planning on finding Calesthenes."

"You mean Aristotle's nephew? I can't believe it!" A29 exclaimed.

"By the way," Hephaistion informed, "he ends up betraying you and teaching your squires the wrong stuff. Now he's back. What will he do now that he's here?"

"It's obvious," replied somebody who Hephaistion could tell was from the Sogdian campaign. "He's either back here of his own accord or someone used a spell to do that and he did a prior act that made us want to find him."

"He tried to kill Alexander twice, first using the other Team Rocket members, then using his dagger. He probably knows how to wield one, it's just that he didn't want to risk his own life the first time."

"I'm surprised," A22 remarked, "that Calesthenes can and does know how to use a weapon. He seems, I don't know, too fond of speaking."

"So, are you going to find him directly or find the person or people who brought him back?" A7 queried.

The room went quiet accept for everyone's breathing. "We're not sure," Hephaistion tried to answer, "but we do think that we have a list of suspects, which isn't very long, probably-" "It's Team Rocket!" Alexander yelled into Hephaistion's ear, "can it not be anyone else? They took our addresses remember a couple weeks ago? They were probably planning this, even before the contest. They used a spell like ours and-" "Wait," A33 interrupted, "Can we have someone who isn't making us rupture an eardrum tell us what they think will happen please?"

"Team Rocket used a spell to bring Calesthenes back a long time before the contest and if I'm guessing right, he planned the assassination attempt before the contest too. And now, they're using some spell that projects visions into a person's dreams to evoke the action of using a duplication spell."

"Not bad Sevens," A17 praised, "not bad tactics for someone who's a year younger than-wait who ran away from home first in Percy Jackson?" he asked Hephaistion.

"Luke Cestallan," answered he.

"When Luke ran away from home. Well, it's also kind of expected considering that we're all sons of Philip here. I know what we need to do: we all need to get registered into an organization that will let us have a lot of money to buy our reconnaissance missions' equipment."

"Already got that," offered Alexander, "the Rock Circle has a lot of money on hand. We have some agents available too. Let me call someone. Anyone got a phone? Thanks Hephaistion."

He dialed a number and held the phone up to his ear for a moment. "Hey can you get over to my house now please? I have some offers to sort out. Thanks Telemachus. Bring Athena and Odysseus too. Wait you're coming now? Cool bye wait one more thing?" he said confused. "Tell who ever is there to not look at the back of the room. Why?"

Then he saw a bright glow in the back of the room. "Okay I know what you're talking about." He turned and told everyone, "Look away. Someone's teleporting in here. Look away if you don't want to be burned to ashes by a god." He paused. "Sorry? Bye."

Three people came spinning out of the glowing light, Odysseus, Athena, and Telemachus, who looked so much like his father but with the brown eyes of Penelope. "Tell me that's not who I think it is," A20 pled.

"It is: Odysseus and Telemachus Ilium and Athena Brazion."

He saw all the copies get down on their knees and added, "No need to do that. I know her."

He ran up to Athena and they high fived. "Let me guess," she said, looking around at all of the Alexanders, "your doing? And it's an emergency?"

"It is," Hephaistion answered. "It has to do with Calesthenes."

"Oh gods not him. He was never worthy of being a demigod. Son of Hermes. Not surprising though since he ended up betraying you guys. Anyway, so you need me to take you guys to a place where you can get all your equipment and you know, acquaint yourselves with this place?"

"Anything would do but..., yes!" they said in unison.

"Okay then," Odysseus said, "let's get out of here. Everyone close your eyes and don't open them until Telemachus or me tells you to. After we take you there we have to leave though. Athena will stay."

They all did what he asked, and they felt the sunlight of the room fade and be replaced by a cool breeze.

"Open your eyes!" Telemachus exclaimed.

The group was standing on Mount Olympus, its white marble Greek buildings glowing in the sun. They were on the road that led to the main palace.

"It's just like in my dream," Alexander remembered, gazing around them.

"The palace of the gods is this way." Athena led the way. Although they had been here many times, the two were still fascinated at what they were seeing: hundreds of dwellings for minor gods and goddesses, stables, sheds, and other buildings looking down on central Greece. To the south, the once city-states of Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Argos were spread out for the gods to look at like pieces in a gallery. To the north, Macedonia and the lands of tribes like Thracians, Triballians, and Illyrians. Spacious parks bordered the road, with cyclopes, demigods, and minor gods alike strolling, talking, eating, and growing things on the many garden terraces. Small castles dotted the peak, perched precariously. All the roads came out of the main palace of the Olympians.

No one had noticed the party at first, but just then, a dryad, a spirit of the woods that lived in a tree, glanced over at them. First, she waved to Athena who returned the gesture, then she noticed Alexander beside her. She stopped eating the olive she was holding and stared with wide eyes. She slowly and timidly began coming forward. Hephaistion beckoned her with a hand, motioning to the Olympian and the demigod-Greek-god crossover.

She started by kneeling at Athena's feet and offering the rest of her olives which Athena took happily. "I don't regret making the fruit then," she mused. "Very nice: small, salty, with a pit that strangely no one seems to like in the olive. Oh well. At least they're still as beautiful as when I made them before." She pointed at the Macedonian at her side, looking down at the dryad. "This is a recently declared minor god, Alexander: god of brilliance, pokemon coordination too."

Everyone around them halted what they were doing and glanced over at him. The demigods looked in curiosity, awe, and some in fear, while the minor gods and goddesses looks said, "is this who we think it is?"

Like answering an unspoken question Athena cried out, confirming their suspicions. "This is Alexander Alae Amon, son of Zeus and step-son of Philip II. King of the Macedonians, conqueror of half the whole world, world's greatest military tactician, in my opinion, the trainer with the longest winning streak ever, and world's if not history's best pokemon coordinator! He may not look like it to you now, but he is exactly the same to the one who conquered Asia and Europe and Africa."

Some of the people around them shook their heads unbelievingly or rolled their eyes. "He seems innocent and calm now, but give him a battle to fight and he will come out the victor! He had and has done so many great deeds on behalf of all of us, especially myself, that Zeus has first claimed him, then given him the essential rights of a god. He is of same status as myself, but I personally think of him as being of higher status, seeing that he has harnessed military supremacy and greatness that I feel exceeds all others, even Julius Caesar, Nepoleon, and Hannibal. Now as proper, we shall all pay reverence before he meets our rightful, just, and technologically adept ruler Zeus."

Alexander expected everyone to start shouting insults at him. "He lies! He is no god! He's a mere mortal who is a pretender!" None of these shouts came, just silence like after a kitharist played a good piece. Then, chants started. Beautiful free verse poetry, made from nothing, made for a king, made for _him._

"All hail Alexander!

Defender of military commanders all,

The sole one who has won so much,

At his high clear voice proclaims orders followed by all,

All hail Alexander!

The one who Zeus embodies,

Is intelligent, always planning, never stops thinking,

He will be remembered in the minds of us all,

Alexander the Great, the fighter who will never fall!"

"This is for me?" Alexander shouted over the swelling chants.

"Of course it is for you! It has your name in it! They're praising you! Just like how they do to someone like me!"

"This is incredible!" A7 and everyone else yelled.

"Our work actually paid off!" A24 screamed. "Let's get to the palace! Before they attract Zeus's attention!"

7: Powers of Gods

The band of friends walked along the road until they reached the door of the hall. You couldn't call it a hall though, more like a stadium. Inside, they could all see twelve thrones arranged in an inverted U. At the extreme right was Zeus on his platinum throne. Energy emitted from him. "Um, We'll go," A33 said, motioning a finger towards the others. "Athena, Hephaistion, you have to stay. Come on." The rest of the group filed out, stepping with care.

Alexander knew what he needed to do. He approached the god like in his dream and gracefully, first bowed, then knelt, then prostrated himself in reverence.

"Rise my son," Zeus said, his voice drifting into his ear. "I am glad that you know what you have to do when meeting a god. Most just stand and stare. I know that you have been worshiping me and my children for years, since you were seven or younger."

"That is true sir," Alexander muttered, still prostrated.

"You may rise, you have no need of laying down this long. I will listen to whatever you have to say."

"Sire, I had a dream where I am standing in your presence and you bless me with your powers. You transport me to the plain of the battle of Gaugamela. I fought the whole of the Persian army and I defeated the Sacred Band single-handedly." He wanted to do this professionally, so he paused and continued. "After I defeated the Sacred Band, I killed the remainder of the army and after the fight when I met him-" he gestured at Hephaistion who knelt then rose as well. "I wanted to congratulate Alexander, but he hit me with energy and I died."

"On top of all this, Calesthenes, my former royal historian, is back. In January, he tried to knife me down. Now, I'm thinking that he was brought back by Team Rocket. I need a set of equipment to help me find him if not defeat him. Please Zeus, the lord of those on Olympos, will you help me?"

Zeus stared down Alexander, with those storm grey eyes. His face showed no anger, or any expression really. He stared in this way for several minutes, making Alexander uncomfortable and nervous. What does he think of me, he thought. I must sound foolish in front of this god.

Then, the sky god's voice cut through the quiet. "I have never heard of something like this. But I have heard of Team Rocket and ever since last April, I've been keeping an eye on you in your dreams. Your dream about me giving you this power was not of my doing. However, I know what I will do. I saw that you had company. Bring them in."

"Yes Zeus sir."

Alexander beckoned with both hands, and the twenty seven Alexanders entered in file. They neatly prostrated themselves and then stood, listening. "You mean," Zeus asked, "you actually duplicated yourself?"

"Yes sir," A19 replied, gazing in awe.

"Everyone sit." They did so. "All of you will receive a special set of skills from me. Although you are all Alexander, you are all different ages, heights, and most importantly, you have different preferences. I am able to see these advantages and exploit them through what your skills will be." This was finally it: the time when all of them would be recognized. "Alexander, I am making you ninety nine percent Greek god. The only ones who can kill you are if all the titans or all the gods combined forces and struck you. Every time you are wounded, your power doubles. Hephaistion, you will be able to take energy from your opponents and you will be able to make illusions to deceive your opponents. You will have never-ending evasiveness too.

Alexander VII, you will have the ability to be infinitely flexible, able to fit into spaces that others can not. You will have this." Zeus flicked his hand and a dart gun appeared. It had a main tube about five inches long and one inch wide. The end was a disc with a hole in its middle, the disc being about half an inch wide with a tube coming out of it that was connected to the rest of the barrel. It was about two inches long with a third inch diameter. A quiver of darts were built into the handle, twenty darts strong. "The disc is put in your mouth. It helps you hold the blow gun in place when you shoot. You lift up the top half of the smallest tube and you push the dart in. Then, you push it down until it clicks, put the disc in your mouth behind your lips, and blow."

He watched the child gaze in wonder and gratitude at his weapon. As a sign of respect, he loaded a dart into the third-inch diameter tube, clicked it shut, and blew with all his strength. The dart flew out the end, its feathered end not making a sound. It went the length of the hall and hit the wall, making a dent. He sucked in his breath and the dart returned to the case. "Thank you Zeus!" he said. "I'll go try this out. But there's one problem: do I ever run out of darts?"

"No you don't, they always come back to you." A7 ran out of the room happily.

"As for VIII, you will have a dagger that always delivers a lethal kill unless you tell it to." The dagger's blade was about a foot long, with a hilt less than half that length. It was double edged, and the base of the blade could make the whole blade rotate vertically in a circle on the hilt. Taking the knife, he slashed downward, making the knife revolve around its hilt. He nodded in thanks to Zeus and ran after A7.

"IX, your weapon of choice will be these goggles. They will let you see what weapons your opponent has and if they have been wounded previously. They are also laser goggles."

"Finally, we're starting to see some modern weaponry here. Thank you Zeus!"

"Alexander X, you will have a weapon no one else here, okay maybe accept your current self, has." A bronze headband appeared. A10 reached out and slipped it around his blonde hair. He was immediately aware of what everyone in the room accept the gods were thinking. "You can concentrate on the thoughts of a particular person and alter them at will. You can even control what their weapon will do."

"I'll go make sure that Vii's not killing anyone yet," he said, turning and leaving.

"XI and XII, you guys will be a pair. XI, you will wield a net and trident while XII will carry a bow. XIII, you will be the first to have a sword. This sword adjusts length, weight, and sharpness with opponents. XIV, you will have a discus that can transform into any weapon you need and no one else can use it. XV through twenty two, you will all be regular swordsman, but you can use your shield as a weapon as well since it has a sharp edge.

Twenty three, you will have the ability to locate the general of the army you are fighting. You have the ability to use this pokeball to mimic all your opponent's strikes and it makes the bad ones beneficial. Did I ever mention it does mimicked moves at five times power?"

"No you didn't," Xxiii replied. "The power of mimicry. Cool. I'm out." He turned and departed like his fellows before him.

"Twenty four, twenty five, twenty seven, twenty nine, and thirty through thirty three will be armed with bows, shields and sarissas. As for Alexander XXVI," Zeus's eyes seemed to brighten, "you will have the abilities of all: infinite flexibility, stats that can't be lowered, never-ending enemy knowledge seeing as you can change the thoughts of your opponents at will. All of these abilities can change of course, so don't expect them to be permanent."

The company stared at each other: they were all Alexander but they were all made for fighting in different circumstances.

"We are honored," Hephaistion said, "to be receiving these gifts from you Zeus. Since we have gotten what we ask, we shall leave you now."

Everybody started to back out of the hall, but Zeus called, "Wait. I have one more thing to add. It is very important."

"Name it please!" A8 demanded.

"If you all attack at once, you can't be stopped. Your stats can not be lowered, and the only way you can be stopped is by a god like Athena or your modern successor here. You will all do Tri Attack which either paralyzes, burns, or freezes your opponents. It works even if you all have the lowest stats you can have. And Alexander?"

"Yes?"

"I am now making you have the ability to bless and curse whomever you choose, not just if someone calls down a curse on your behalf. You can heal any of your friend's stats, but just having all twenty eight of you together will lower all of your enemy's stats by fifty percent. Your attacks will never miss unless you intend. And, I'm making you all Greek god and only a strike from Chronos's scythe will kill you. You can't be wounded if you are protected and if you are hit with any weapon when like this, your power still doubles. When unprotected, your ichor when it touches anything will make it burn, and it lowers stats as well. So that means that you are pretty much all Greek god."

He watched his son gawk at him. "You are serious?"

"I am as serious as the river Styx is unhabitable."

"Zeus, I don't know what to say. But, on behalf of all of us here, thank you. We are now ready for our training for when we meet Team Rocket and Calesthenes. Everyone, move out!" All of them exited the hall with some goodbyes in Greek and a couple more prostrations.

"I can't believe that it's only been one day," Athena remarked, "and you already have a fully armed company ready. But it will take some time though."

"Yeah," Alexander replied. "It'll take about a month to train all of you and my pokemon armed. Whatever happens, the power misused will now be the power that will bring this historian down, like what barbarians did to Rome. Training calls first. Beginning tomorrow, the Rock Circle will become a professional army. I shall notify the others, and I shall recruit my soldiers and officers in the next month.

Athena, you and the others stay here on Olympus and train. I may need you. Considering who I am fighting, I need every man I can get."

REPEAT HISTORY TACTICS

(Amonniad Series Three)

By Tracey Esteron

Leonardo da Vinci

and Alexander Alae Amon

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.

1023 Rictron St.,

Pallet Town CA, 12345

Copyright © 1502 and 2010 by Tracey Esteron, Leonardo da Vinci, and Alexander Alae Amon. All rights reserved. Illustrated by Athena Brazion and Leonardo da Vinci

The use of this material in other books not made by the Rock Circle is prohibited unless you receive permission from Athenian Academy Books Inc's CEO Athena Brazion or Tracey Esteron. Any other use is allowed without permission.

To the books of Mary Renault, Peter Green, and Milissa Scott, for giving me more info that I didn't already have.

And to Aria Alphis, for telling me to show her as a supporting role and to leave her in the background. She said that she would merely need to be introduced. She would become more important later.

1: Back to Business

"10:28 on the digital clock,

I know it's late but I just can't stop,

All this jumping around all this wasting time,

It's getting to be a habit of mine.

You would think I didn't wonna get paid,

I'm not the type to procrastinate,

But a girl can't always be well-behaved."

"Hey Aria Alphis, what you doing?"

Aria started at the sound of her best friend's voice. Alexander _always interrupted her though, so this was normal.

I know what you are going to ask. You might be wondering how can anybody, even Alexander, have __two_ best friends? Hephaistion is enough isn't it? Well, he has two best friends because he's too much for one person to handle.

"I'm just listening to music and testing our new sound equipment." She slid her headphones off her long black hair, and she placed them in her lap. "You know your room has awesome acoustics. I don't even have to sing that loud."

"Yeah. I get that a lot, but thanks anyway. I'm just asking, where's Triana, Cam, and Carn?"

"Why do you ask?" Why do I even ask? As soon as Aria's question escaped her lips, she regretted it and thought it was unnecessary. All I know is is that Alexander only asks questions like that when he's very, very, bored. Bored or planning something, but mostly when he's bored. "Who knows?" Aria had no idea where those three could be. Her bright green eyes glanced out the window, scanning. "All I know is is that Triana and Cam are together and Carn is either alone or with them."

Triana, Cam, and Carn were Aria's friends and were some of the first members to join the Rock Circle. They had been there since 2008, and they were the ones who gave the organization attention on the Internet. Carn had met Aria in high school, and when they attended the same college, they had met Triana and Cam. All four of them had finished high school early, so by the time they were twenty, they had jobs working on their podcast, Gatacast. It was the first publicly acknowledged Eragon podcast ever made, and they had used Gatacast to advertise the Rock Circle. "There's only one way to find them." Aria could tell that he wanted to carry out some random friend-finding plan he had made at some point. Alexander was living proof that military strategy could be easily utilized off the battlefield at any time. "Azelf, go!"

A blue-gray pokemon with a red jewel in each of its two tails appeared at Alexander's feet. She was extremely intelligent, and she loved her trainer's plans as long as they weren't life-threatening. "No need to look," she said, pointing out the bedroom window. "They're down there, um, using either a giant slingshot or a, a, what do you call it?"

"A torsion catapult."

"Right. Let's get down there before they reenact the siege of Tyre."

The two trainers and pokemon went out the door, went down the stairs, and into the back yard.

"Who knew launching things with a catapult is this fun? No. Who knew that it could _ever be this fun?" Cam shouted. His gray eyes shone with pleasure and energy. Cam was the pep-talk guy, having an encouraging word for everyone. He often did their errands and took care of other odds-and-ends.

"Who's catapult is this anyway?" Triana asked. Her light red hair, tied up in a ponytail, swished around her shoulders as she turned and watched their ceramic projectile fly.

"This is Alexander's. Philip let us use it. This will get so interesting when we're gonna try to find them." Carn was just content that Philip, Alexander's father, had let them use this catapult at all! Carn's dark brown eyes looked around the back yard. Good, they weren't caught by... "Aria, Alexander!" he shouted. "Where were you? We've been waiting! And your dad, uh, let's just say, gave us all this free of charge."

"I'm surprised you figured out how this thing works without launching yourself."

"Really Amon! Seven o'clock in the morning! Even now, diss me!" As soon as Carn had met Alexander, he had found the Macedonian to be naturally forceful and uncomfortable to be around. Alexander was continually proving to Carn that he was Alexander the Great, and Carn never seemed to get the message. Too bad for him.

"Hey Hephaistion, did we get all our missiles back?" Cam called. An olive-eyed guy about twenty, the same age as all of them, came running back to them with about twenty ceramic spheres in his arms. "These go farther than I thought," he said, out of breath, "and they're not even full weight."

"Well, according to Usnitch, Alexander's attempted many a saturation barrage before, so why not now?" Azelf posed.

"Because most of these houses are made to withstand a saturation barrage," Hephaistion said.

"Well, they never said by what. Bombs yes, but catapults, maybe not. Are there any walls that need breaching?"

"No, unless you count your walls." The Macedonian spun around to find Adam Usnitch standing there, smiling. "How did Philip deal with you the first time?"

"No clue, probably just because my mother was there. If she hadn't been there, Philip would have been working for me." he mused. "Maybe when I was seven, maybe younger. Usnitch, good luck in not trying to get hit in the head with another twenty pound stone."

Alexander was right. Adam dove down to the ground as a sphere of rock went flying inches above his head.

"This is better than when you chased Triana, Cam, Usnitch, and I around Pallet Town! We had a golf cart and you were on foot and you never stood a chance! Until our battery died anyway."

Darius had been walking past Alexander's house when he saw Adam nearly die via catapult. He was treated much like Carn, but worse. Alexander was always proving to him that he was his conqueror and that he would always be superior to him.

"Darius, would, would you stay out of this!" Alexander was pissed off again at his former enemy.

_Typical Amon, Aria thought as she watched Macedon, Persia, and America rhetorically fight it out, again._ _How do I break them up._ She wondered.

Then, Aria lunged forward, grabbed Adam by the shoulders and flipped him onto Alexander's back. They fell on top of Darius, and right before they could see that she was the culprit, she stepped back into place.

"What happened?" she asked with a note of surprise.

"Someone flipped me over," Adam groaned, standing. Darius managed to get the Macedonian off of him, and he stood as well.

"Before you guys beat each other into a pulp," Cam intervened "I have some info. Odysseus and Athena got some intelligence and we know who brought Calesthenes back to life for sure. He and his partner are members of Team Rocket. He-"

"Just say it will you!" Alexander shouted in his ear. "Get to the point!"

"Jessie and James brought Calesthenes and possibly Kleitis back to life to harass us, but specifically you, in your dreams."

"This explains the use of the Sacred band in the alternate battle of Gaugamela," Hephaistion said. "Only the Macedonians would know about them and about how they fight."

"Here is what we have to do. We can't let our past and present enemies get together or get a hold of anyone like they did Pikachu. We should rise up against them. A mutiny! Just like what the squires did." Alexander had _another_ plan. Like a month ago.

"Crap," Peter muttered. "I know what we should do, though I probably will regret it later."

"They will not force us,

They will stop degrading us,

They will not control us,

We will be victorious!" he shouted.

"Songs again!" Darius yelled as everyone continued to sing.

"Operation Locate and Defeat is under way!" Pikachu shouted, stopping the singing.

"Pikachu! Didn't you say that, like, a month ago?" Alexander asked, eyeing him.

"Yes, but this time I swear by the gods I won't betray you. I promise. Let's get to Olympus again and see how your Successors, I mean the Diadochi's, training is going."

"If you need me," Darius said, turning to leave, "I'll be at Professor Oak's place. I want to check on Skiddy."

2: Many an Iskander

"Told you we'd be here!" Carn shouted, stepping out of the elevator and walking across the sky bridge onto Mount Olympus.

"We all know and we all knew you would come eventually." A man standing in the road smiled and beckoned at them to approach. "We could see that shield of yours from a mile away and even from the ground level of this place."

"What shield?" Carn asked, then he turned to Alexander. The shield of Achilles was on his arm. It was a plain silver circle, but the edge was razor sharp, so it alone could be a weapon. It reflected even the smallest amount of light to make a glare that would make him visible on any battlefield or in any crowd.

"How are the Companions?" Alexander asked, looking at Hermes. Hermes, the god of thieves and travelers, was not looking like a god, but just a normal guy, with his cunning smile, who would always cause trouble.

"You mean the Diadochi? They call themselves that since that's what your successors were called. Strangely, Ares was actually starting to the training. He's beaten some of them a couple times-" Alexander's face turned to shock, "but don't worry. They recovered, weirdly, immediately afterward. Not that bad for Ares. I'm just glad they're alive. He stopped though when A26 started to train them."

"Where are they?" asked Aria, looking around the many parks and palaces surrounding them.

"Oh, they're in that park," Hermes pointed to their left at a group of infantry wielding sarissas, long spears. "They've been expecting you for a long time."

"Come on!" Triana said, gesturing for them to follow her towards the drilling phalanx.

"We've been waiting for hours!" shouted A7, putting down his sarissa. "These things are impossible to lift! No wonder it was so hard to train people."

"Well usually they were what, full-grown men and you're, uh, um, not, so it's kind of expected," Triana pointed out, glancing over at who was leading the drills. A26 from the battle of Gaugamela, signaled the phalanx left and right wings to turn outward facing their respective directions. "This is fun. I remember when I did this before the battle. I remember it like it was yesterday." He closed his eyes for a moment, recollecting.

"Well, I can continue the drills from here," Alexander offered, taking up his own sarissa. "Let's do this everybody."

All day, Alexander only saw the thirty sarissas moving left, right, up, and down. He felt the cold metal of his helmet on his head, his silver shield on his arm, and his cuirass on his chest and back. Every other sensation was either there but he was ignoring it or it wasn't there at all.

"Good work everybody," he called, signaling for them to stop their drills. "I need a break; a long break. I haven't done this in such a long time."

"Tell me about it," A23 remarked, sticking his sarissa shaft-up in the dirt. "I need to do _anything_ that doesn't involve drilling."

"Me too," Aria said, removing her armor. "There's a book I think you have to read too Alexander."

"What's it called?"

"_Monday_ _with_ _a_ _Mad_ _Genius,"_ she said, "by Mary Pope Osborne. A Magic Tree House book. It was made in 2008, but it's still pretty cool."

"Let's get down from here," Cam said, "and read it then. What's it about?" he asked, curious.

"Leonardo da Vinci," Aria answered, but before she could finish her sentence, someone interjected. "Why didn't you mention this before!" Alexander screamed, surprising everyone. "Besides Achilles, Homer, and Rick Riordan, he's one of my favorite people! Let's get out of here!"

"Wait," Carn asked, "isn't it true that Jack and Annie stalk who they have to find all the time?"

"Yes!" Alexander was delighted, "they have to stalk _Leonardo_ _da_ _Vinci._ Let's go! I want to read it! Now!"

3: Drafter, Line-sketcher, da Vinci

Ash heard a knock on his door. It sounded like about five people knocking in very very quick succession. That was Alexander's signature knock. No one at all could imitate it perfectly. They could do it yes, but not _perfectly_ _like_ _him._ "It's open," he called, heading down the stairs. He saw Alexander holding Pikachu and Azelf, and Aria was behind him. Triana, Cam, and Carn were on their heels, running towards the open door. "Why are you here?" asked Ash, seeing how out of breath they were.

"I. Want to. Borrow. Your copy of. Monday with. A Mad. Genius. Mary Pope Osborne. Magic Tree House," Aria panted.

"We want to read it aloud over at Agee's place," Azelf added as she looked at the thin book in Ash's arms. "Is that it?"

"Yes it is," Ash said, handing it over to Alexander. "You guys can keep it, I have a second copy anyway. I really really like the pictures. They're so lifelike."

"Thanks Ketchum," Triana commented as the group walked away and across the street.

Alexander's house was just like Ash's except that in front, sculptures of his pokemon in lifelike poses lined the pathway up to the door. The door was painted with a scene from a reenactment of Alexander's campaigns in a parody form he had done last year. It showed one of their friends, pretending to be Azimilik, one of the governors who died during that siege, being launched off the walls via catapult. Opening the door, the group went upstairs to Alexander's room. It had mosaics of the Iliad on the ceiling and the floor. There was a weapons collection on the wall in front of the bed, and book shelves lined the rest of the walls. A long table with carving tools sat below the left wall of books. Hephaistion was waiting, for he had not come to Olympus. It looked like he had been sleeping. Triana, Cam, Carn, Aria, Pikachu, Azelf, Hephaistion, and Alexander sat in file on the floor and started reading.

It only took about forty five minutes to finish the book, but it was really amusing. Aria loved how Osborne used a different prologue. Pikachu enjoyed the fact that Jack and Annie had the ability to use magic themselves. "That was awesome." Triana commented, handing the book back to Cam. "Stalkers! But cool ones!"

"Who knew that Agee, you Alexander, out of all people, liked da Vinci," Carn said, standing and stretching."

"You know what would be funny?" Hephaistion joked, looking around to make sure his friend wasn't in the room and dropping his voice, "if Leonardo knocked on the door wanting something."

"Hilarious!" Azelf chuckled. "Hopefully like what's happened in the past, it won't come true. Where's Alexander anyways?"

"Don't know," Aria said, looking around. "He's probably downstairs-"

"Ah!" There was a scream from downstairs. "Get down here! Now! Look! Look! Wait no I'm coming up!" Before any of them could react, they saw their friend running in with a look of astonishment on his face. "Someone. Walking around the block. Looks same as Leonardo in the book!"

"Yeah right," Pikachu said sarcastically. "You're probably just jumpy from seeing his picture. It's happened before."

"You're right." Alexander sighed, and he sat down beside Hephaistion. "I mean, it's usually because of coincidence that this thing happens. I mean what's he gonna do, knock on the window?"

Everybody laughed; Alexander's witty humor was why they liked him. Despite his past, they all knew he wasn't such a bad person after all. He did bad things with a just reason to do so. Making fun of himself was what he did a lot without meaning to.

In the two seconds of silence after their laugh, there was a tap on the window. Pikachu reached for the rope that pulled back the curtains, but Alexander grabbed his arm. "What if it's not him?" he asked, potential disappointment in his voice. "Let's look at his description in the book. Maybe it's the same."

"Okay. It says he was "wearing a purple cloak and a floppy blue cap. He had bright, kind eyes, heavy eyebrows, and a flowing beard." Aria read. "Maybe he'll be wearing those, though I'm sure he won't have a beard. I don't know why." Aria stopped reading and looked out the window. All she could see of Leonardo was two hands gripping the windowsill with his legs tucked up against the wall. When Alexander had had his room renovated, he had asked the builders to put hand and foot holds in the wall up to his window. It could be used if he needed to get in or out quickly. "You can look now," said Aria.

"Thank the gods that I made those handholds," Alexander muttered, looking at the gripping hands. The figure's cap was pulled down over his face, but he knew who it was. "Come on up!" Aria whispered to Leonardo.

"Open the window first," Azelf reminded, sliding it back to let the man in.

"Now," she whispered, "you can come on up." The man nodded, and Azelf grasped his hand. Pikachu, Alexander, and everybody else did the same. Soon, they saw the rest of him: his jeans under his cloak, his shirt with a familiar scene the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, his blue cap that once covered his features was now over his light sandy hair. Pikachu and Azelf pulled the Renaissance genius up over the windowsill into the room.

"What a relief," Leonardo da Vinci said, sighing as he sat down on the floor. "I'm finally out of hanging out in open air. Thank you, Ma'am," he nodded at Aria, and she smiled.

"Oh, don't thank me, Leonardo," Aria said, pointing at Alexander, "thank him: Alexander Alae Amon."

"Well, I have to thank you then," Leonardo smiled.

Alexander was in shock and at a loss for words.

"I, d-don't, uh, thank you. I, I l-love your work."

"Who are you guys anyway?" asked Leonardo.

"I'm Aria Alphis," Aria said, "I'm Hephaistion Furissa," said Hephaistion, "I'm Pikachu Ketchum," Pikachu introduced, "I'm Azelf Alae Amon," said Azelf, "and she's Triana Melson, he's Cam Craecis, and he's Carn Sprinay."

"Who are you? Really?" Leonardo asked Alexander.

"I'm Alexander Alae Amon, but I'm better known as Alexander III of Macedon, son of Philip or Alexander the Great."

He watched Leonardo's face. He was first astonished, then fearful, then understanding.

"So, it's true," Leonardo said slowly, "it's true you're here. I thought, thought, you were dead!"

"I was," Alexander said, "but let's just say that here in the 21st century, we have the technology to bring back the dead. Can I have a moment alone please?"

"Sure," Pikachu let them have their private moment, beckoning the others out with him.

The two brilliant minds stared at each other, one with bright blue eyes full of wonder and one with one gray blue eye and one dark brown, almost black eye, both looking curious and astonished. "So, we might as well get you initiated into this organization," Alexander said quietly and he took his laptop off the desk. He logged into his Olympian Files account and began to type.

The Olympian Files: Leonardo da Vinci

I'm here, I'm typing, and I'm still counting types of noses! Seriously, that's actually true. It's _hard_ _okay?_ This will be _really_ _hard_ because I'm writing with both hands, not one.

Smart one! You can't type with one hand unless you're texting or something.

Who are you!

Alexander III, son of Philip II.

Alexander the Great?

Yes.

And you are?

Leonardo da Vinci, cool Italian person.

Whoa.

I love your work!

I love _your_ work!

This is awesome! Alexander, can you, please, show me how this organization works?

If you want. Wait why in the name of your many notebooks are you here?

Running from these people who wonna kill me.

Cool. Welcome to the loop Leonardo.

Hey You're called Alexander the Great, how about me?

Hmm. How about da Vinci the Drafter? Or Line-sketcher Leonardo?

Cool! I'm modern!

"Wait," said Leonardo, stopping the typing, "aren't I supposed to have a magic item? I heard about that from someone."

"Yes you are." Alexander took something off his weapons rack. And so the typing continued.

Athena gave this to me in case I needed another magic item.

"It's a sketch book again and a pen too! Is this like that Percy Jackson thing, you know Riptide?" Leonardo asked in writing and aloud.

"No. It's completely different. Draw something, anything."

Leonardo put pen to paper, and drew several deft lines, or at least it looked like several deft lines. "What did you draw?" he asked.

"The iPad. I saw it on the way over here." He looked down to find an actual Ipad sitting in his lap. He gaped. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, whatever you draw will become real. You can draw anything but another sketch pad."

"I, I don't know how to thank you."

Alexander glanced out the window absentmindedly. He wanted to surprise Leonardo with what he saw. "How about the fact that Jack and Annie are here?"

"No way."

"Way. I've always wanted to meet those two."

"We've been looking for you, Leonardo!" Jack and Annie said, climbing through the window like Leonardo had done. "We thought you stole some person's airplane or something!"

"I'm not that much of a thief."

"Do you think you or Jack and Annie got followed, Lisa?" Leonardo called down.

"Really unlikely, considering what I did while you were climbing up. A distraction." A woman with long brown hair came up through the window too.

"What you did?" Jack emphasized you, "You took ten cell phones and played the ten most annoying ring tones known to man. I still don't know how you did that."

"Hi Lisa!" Annie exclaimed.

"Jack Annie guys! I was looking for you two also," said Lisa. "I didn't know you were following me."

"Hold up," Alexander held up a hand, "who's following you Line-sketcher?"

"This trio of people, two male one female, want to capture me if not steal all my ideas. And they always seem to-"

Before Leonardo could finish his sentence, there was a shout from below them in the back yard. "There they are! Get him! Go Pokeball!"

"Bye everyone." Jack typed. "We're gonna fight them off!"

"TAKE IT AWAY TO WRITE THE REST TRACEY ESTERON,` Alexander typed in all-caps.

"This! Is! Florence!" Leonardo shouted, throwing a javelin he had drawn out the window. The trio scattered.

"What was that?" Leonardo asked, taking a deep breath.

"I have _no_ _clue,_ but I think I know who it is who's chasing you," Alexander said. "I have to tell the others. But for now, let's find Teddy and Kathleen and get you guys situated."

"Already here." Teddy and Kathleen clambered into the room. Teddy's freckled face was beaded with sweat, and Kathleen was out of breath.

"Leonardo," Kathleen said, bowing her head. "It's an honor to meet you. And you too, Lisa," she added, glancing over at the Florentine woman.

"Oh you think it's an honor to know _me,"_ Leonardo said, "wait until you meet my, uh, newly made friend. Alexander Alae Amon, son of Philip, better known as Alexander the Great."

The two sorcerers stared in shock. "You're kidding," Teddy said. "It can't be, _the_ _Alexander_ _the_ _Great."_

"Yeah," said Jack, "he died, what, 2300 years ago? And the archaeologists are saying that his body will never be found."

"Jack's right," Kathleen agreed. "Besides, he wouldn't even know about," she gestured at the room and the scene outside, "all of this. America wasn't discovered back then."

"Unless," Annie said slowly, "the archaeologists or whoever found his mummy, brought him to the United States and he resurrected here with magic or other means. They're saying that the people studying the DNA had put the body in a cryogenic freezer, but the liquid nitrogen started to vaporize. The freezer got warmer and warmer over the course of a few hours and soon, it was about body temperature in there. This had somehow restarted the replication of his cells to replace the ones that the nitrogen had killed. His body started to function again, and his nervous system responded to the fact that he was in the freezer. He woke up, opened the freezer and stepped out and when a guard tried to shoot him, the bullets missed, he went unconscious, and he snuck out. Then, he met Aria."

"How do you know all that?" Jack asked Annie in admiration.

"I read some Rock Circle magazines on the flight here," Annie said, "it was a good article. But that's not my point: in the rest of the issues, it showed how Alexander got _here,_ moved in, and became a pokemon trainer with an Azelf he got from an egg."

"Tell us more," said Teddy.

"Well, in the most recent issue, it shows how he read all about all these historical accounts and how he's basically another Olympian."

Annie then turned her comments to Alexander himself. "You're still as charismatic now as you were back during your first campaign, and if you are who you say you are, then you would be able to tell us _any_ _detail_ of your campaign we asked."

"So, you're going to interrogate me. And if I give you what you ask, then you'll believe Leonardo here," Alexander summarized.

"Pretty much," said Annie. "Let me do this. If I can persuade Jack to do a lot of weird things and make people say a lot of weird stuff, then doing it to Amon here won't be that hard." Annie put an impassive look on her face and turned to face her interviewee. "Can I talk to him with just

Jack and Leonardo here?" asked Annie, "and this Aria?"

"Sure. Aria, can you come up here?" Alexander shouted to Aria from upstairs.

"Sure." Aria came up to his room, then saw Annie's face. "Let me guess," she said, sighing, "she needs proof."

"Yeah."

"Answer the questions please," said Annie, laying her hands on her lap, "and the questions only or I'll have to assume you are trying to hide something."

"That's fair," Alexander agreed.

"We have to stay!" Teddy interjected.

"Me too," said Kathleen.

"Me too," said Lisa.

Okay," said Annie. "You can all stay, but you can only intervene when I say it's okay. Let's see if you are _really_ Alexander the Great, shall we?" said Annie, and the giving of proof began.

4: Tell Truth when Needed

"First of all, when and where were you born?" asked Annie. _ No time to be playful._ She thought.

"I was born on July 20th, 356 B.C.E in Pella, Macedon, Greece. I am the son of Philip and the son of Zeus and my mother is Olympias." _Did I give her too much information,_ Alexander pondered as Annie continued. "Who was your first teacher? If you had to switch teachers, how old were you, who was your new teacher, and why did you do it?"

"My first teacher was Lionidas of Sparta. I switched teachers at 13 since my father knew that traditional mentors weren't working out for me. My new teacher was Aristotle the philosopher."

"Good," said Annie, her expression softening a little bit. "Aristotle taught you common sense."

"How many questions are you-" "I'm asking three more questions," interrupted Annie. "_I_ will be asking them, if you will, Mr. Alexander."

"Okay, yes ma'am."

That got Annie's mouth to turn up into a small smile. Not a sure sign that she was her young, playful self again, but it was enough to give him confidence. "Where was your first battle where you led a large force," she questioned, "who were you supposed to fight and how did this battle's victory benefit you?"

"My first battle was the battle at Chaeronea. I was supposed to fight the Sacred Band. This battle benefited me and my father since it allowed us to go to Asia without worrying about a revolt."

"What was your first major battle in Asia and who was your opponent?"

"The first Asiatic battle was the battle at the Granicus and my opponent was Memnon, Darius III's best general."

"Your last question," Annie notified. "What was your most renowned battle and what part of the battle did your generals refuse for you to do?"

"My most renowned battle was the battle of Gaugamela," said he. "I was chasing Darius off the battlefield and I _would_ _have_ caught him if Perminion hadn't stopped me by letting me know there was another skirmish to deal with. I'm telling you, we could have ruled jointly. However, I would have ruled the larger part of the empire."

Annie stared with her bright eyes. It didn't look like that this eight-year-old girl could get information affectively out of someone twice her age, but she had done it. She had, with luck, seen that he wasn't just a historian recounting the facts, rather that he was actually the one. He _was_ the son of Zeus that so many feared. It _was_ Basiliskos; he _was_ the real Alexander the Great.

"So what do you think now?" asked Aria.

"I sense he tells the truth, Annie. No one would have been able to know all of that so easily without prior knowledge," Kathleen reassured.

"I agree," said Teddy. "He is genuine. Any Greek historian could have said what he had. But, he seems to be much more, sincere, than a historian's account."

"I concur," Leonardo approved. "I know if someone is lying. Their replies are hesitant or if they are not, they are not well formed and are open to more questioning."

"Though the questioning is over, I can not be biased," said Annie firmly. "I'm younger than you guys, so I don't have an opinion of who I am interviewing. However, I see that you-" she pointed at Alexander, "are really who you say you are. There is no denying it."

"Of course! No one at all who is a historian could have told this so easily. Plus, I could have told you more of Lionidas if you had allowed it. I could even tell you what I think about the feats of other military commanders who succeeded me." Annie raised her eyebrows. "What?" Alexander protested, pointing at Leonardo, "he does know people, but does he know _war?_ Of course not! _I_ _know_ _war._ I've fought in more than 80 battles where I have been outnumbered and _I_ _have_ _won._ My military tactics _can_ _never_ be beaten as I would rather excel those in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my power and dominion."

He paused for affect. "I am the _only_ _one_ who has conquered so much. Only Ghengis Kaun could compete. He conquered a huge area yes, but he never did it with such a small force. _ I_ _can_ _and_ _will_ _never_ _be_ _rivaled,_ _for_ _I_ _am_ _the rightful_ _ruler of_ _this Asia,_ _Africa, and_ _Europe! There_ _can_ _not_ _be_ _two_ _Greats,_ _just_ _the_ _one,_ _for_ heaven _cannot_ brook _two_ _suns,_ nor _earth_ _two_ _masters."_

He stopped. Everyone was giving him a look that said, "This isn't fake. It really is Alexander himself."

"Is _this_ proof enough for you Annie?" Alexander asked with relish. _ I have given her all that I can offer in such a short time period. Maybe even the long speech about how I am the best could have been proof enough. No historian can recreate something like that. What will she decide?_

"In the style of the Assembly," proclaimed Annie, "we shall vote. Aye for genuineness, nay for being counterfeited. Jack?"

"Aye," he replied. "Lisa?"

"Aye. Kathleen?"

"Aye. Teddy?"

Everyone waited for his response. He would decide if Alexander's hospitality offering was true. There had to be unanimous vote. There was a pause in the proceedings, and then, Teddy pronounced, "Aye."

"Yes!" shouted Jack. "I can be with two of the most ingenious people of all time!"

"This is amazing!" said Annie.

"I can finally see why you love this year so much," said Teddy.

"I was really looking forward to looking at all the how do you say it, cool stuff" Kathleen said excitedly. "However, Teddy and I have seen all we have needed to see."

"Let's," said Aria, but then she saw Leonardo's face. "What's wrong, Leonardo?"

"It's just that," he said, "there's so much controversy around my Mona Lisa. So many people want to own it. I don't want it to belong to anyone but myself." He turned to Lisa. "I haven't seen you in person since I finished my painting. And here in 2010, I'll spend even less time with you like what happened after I finished your portrait."

Leonardo's eyes were sad and misty. It was clear that he really liked Lisa, but he also wanted to enjoy what 21st century America had to offer. Then, out of nowhere, against all expectations, Leonardo began to sing.

"It kills me not to no this, but I've all but just forgotten,

What the color of her eyes were, and her scars or how she got them,

As the telling signs of aging ranges down a single tear is dropping,

Through the valleys of her unaging face that this world has forgotten."

Leonardo was singing Savior by Rise Against, his voice full of sadness and longing. He had probably heard it while he was on the run, and probably all of those bitter memories had returned then.

"There is no reconciliation that will put me in my place,

,and there is no time like the present

To drink these draining seconds,

Seldom do these wounds in through where I'm constantly failing you,

Walls that we just can't break through, until we disappear.

So tell me now,

This ain't love

And how do we get out,

'Cause I don't know."

Lisa pitched in.

"That's when she said I don't hate you boy,

I just want to save you,

While there's still something left to save,

That's when I told her I love you girl

But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have."

"How," asked Aria, "do you know that song, Leonardo?"

"I don't know," he answered slowly. "I heard it on the flight here from Pensyllvania. It's just that, that song is all about love. And unanswered questions. And indecision. Three things that plague someone, anyone, all the time. I have no idea what I'm going to do." Leonardo still looked sad, then he looked over at Alexander. They locked eyes, for both had had this experience of being alone plenty of times.

"Don't worry, da Vinci," Aria comforted, "we'll all be here for you."

"And," added Alexander, "no matter how difficult things around here get, as I said, "there is nothing impossible for him who will try." We'll get out there and bring it."

"The best we're gonna do," said Aria.

"We're not counting anyone," said Jack.

"Not even you because, nothing is impossible for him who will try," sang Annie.

"You might even notice how we tribute the best," said Hephaistion, who had come in without anyone knowing.

"It was no one's idea," intoned Triana.

"It'll put this fight at rest," chorused Cam.

"It's just that," said Azelf, "nothing is impossible for him who will try."

Sharing a song with their friends was what members of the Rock Circle did quite often. They did it whether they were playing Rock Band or not. If a good song was playing, they would all pitch in. This made everyone in the room feel much better. Leonardo relaxed. He smiled. "So it's true: you guys do sing a lot."

"It's not just true," replied Aria, "but a big part of our lives for us. Welcome to the Rock Circle, Leonardo da Vinci, Jack, Annie, Lisa, Teddy, Kathleen. We hope that your services will be of great help, even if they are minimal."

"Let's get you settled," Alexander gestured at the group. "You can stay at Ash's place if you want. I don't think he would mind."

"If we ever come back, we'll stay at Ash's house," said Teddy. "However, we were only sent here to make sure you four got here safely. We have to go back to Camelot and tell Morgan what's happened. We'll come back when and if she says."

"It was an honor meeting you," said Teddy, bowing to Alexander.

"You too," said Aria. "Say hi to Morgan for us, will you?"

"Sure," said Kathleen. The two sorcerers said good-bye, and they vanished.

"Leonardo, Lisa, Jack and I will stay here," said Annie.

"Let's settle in, shall we?" said Lisa.

"Man, I _have_ _to_ introduce you to my parents," Alexander remembered, glancing across the hall. "They'll be honored to have you four here. Oh, so will my sister. Cleopatra, can you come in here? I have someone you would want to meet."

A dark-haired girl came in from the room across the hall. She was three years younger than her brother, and she thought that he was the best brother anyone could have. He was kind to her, he always helped her out when she asked, and yet he always had an eye on her. He wasn't trying to be overprotective, but he was trying to keep her safe. "Who is it?" Cleopatra Alae Amon entered and embraced her brother.

"It's someone who you heard about from me who is really famous."

"Is it Homer?" Cleopatra observed Alexander's face. He was excited already.

"No," answered Alexander, laughing. "It's someone more recent and I know where he was born: Florence, Italy."

"Michelangelo was from Florence. Is it him?"

"No, but you're close. He was Michelangelo's rival. He thought himself the better artist."

Alexander was hoping Cleopatra would get it _now._ He tried again. "His name rhymes with Peocardo da Flinchi."

She thought for a moment before saying steadily, "Leonardo da Vinci?"

"Yes! You figured it out at last! It took you _that_ _long?"_ said Alexander. "Sorry about the sarcasm. I thought that since you love Italy so much, I was hoping that you would figure it out quicker."

"Is this true?" she asked, contemplating da Vinci's bright blue eyes with their long eyebrows, his long nose, his biscuit hair.

"It is," Leonardo replied. "I can prove it too." He opened the sketch pad that Alexander had given him and wrote:

.rednaxelA rehtorb ruoy fo ycrem eht ta dna nosrep ecnassianeR eniuneg a ma I

"If I can figure out what it means," said Cleopatra, "then I'll know that you're really," she gulped, "Leonardo da Vinci."

"Exactly."

_How, in the name of Astyages will I figure out what this thing says? She considered as she stared at the writing on the page. What if it's a language that I don't know? I wouldn't stand a chance._

She looked in a mirror on the wall, scanning her own reflection. She stretched out her left hand, and in the mirror, it looked like her right hand was extended. Things in mirrors were backward unless the object was already symmetrical on both sides, like when her arms were at her sides. She held the paper up to the mirror and gasped. The writing on the page didn't read what it did before. Now, it read:

I am a genuine Renaissance person and at the mercy of your brother Alexander.

"I know what it says now!" she exclaimed, waving the paper in Leonardo's face. "You wrote the message backward. Only either a crazy person or a reasonable person could have done so!"

"And what does the message say, um."

"Cleopatra Amon."

"What does the message say then, Cleopatra Amon?"

"I am a genuine Renaissance person and at the mercy of your brother Alexander."

"Yes!" Leonardo grinned from ear to ear. "You have your brother's keen observation skills. You noticed that the writing was in English, but not written in the normal way."

"No," she said modestly, "I did that since it was kind of an accident. I was looking around here for inspiration."

"That's actually unsurprising," Pikachu said, "considering that everyone in your family had to have good observation skills the first time."

"Yeah," Carn remarked. "Not to put a damper on things, but Triana, Cam, guys, do you want to get back to our place?"

"Sure," said Triana, yawning. "It's already five o'clock. I want to get home and make dinner."

"Me too," agreed Cam.

"Even best friends need some alone time," said Hephaistion, standing too. "I'll be hanging out with Melson, Craecis, and Sprinay here for the next few days. If you need me, I'll be with them. See you, Alexander. Good luck, Line-sketcher."

"You too," said Leonardo. The friends went out of the room, and Alexander could hear his front door close behind them.

As the group watched their friends leave, they didn't notice that a man and a woman came in as Carn stepped over the threshold. "So, that's who caused Alexander to go crazy," said the man.

Alexander spun about to see that it was his father, Philip. His black eyes regarded Alexander with appreciation.

"Yes he is. He's _Leonardo_ _da_ _Vinci!"_ Alexander emphasized, indicating Leonardo. "Jack, Annie, and Lisa are here, too."

"Wait," his mother, Olympias, stopped him. Her gray eyes shone with curiosity. "Jack, Annie, Lisa? You mean Jack and Annie from Magic Tree house?"

"Yeah," said Alexander, gesturing again. "Is it okay that they stay here? It will give you an opportunity to take care of the other kids you never had rightfully."

His parents took a sidelong glance at each other. Philip had had many children with people besides Olympias the first time in Macedon before and after Alexander was born, like Arridaios and Ptolemy. With the guests here, there would be less times when there were gaps in their lives where they wouldn't do anything.

"Sure," said Olympias, hugging Alexander.

"Great! We can go down to Professor Oak's place tomorrow to get you pokemon."

"And you know Alexander here," said Azelf, climbing onto his shoulder and nestling her head on his neck, "is an expert in pokemon matching."

"Don't you need to get a starter pokemon though," said Jack, "like Squirtel, Bulbasaur, or Charmander? Alexander, how could you get a legendary pokemon as your starter?"

"Well, I got an egg that hatched into an Azelf. Eggs can make any pokemon and Professor Oak's seeing that not only normal starters work for trainers, but eggs can too. It gives trainers a head start in catching, but not training. You have to teach them moves from scratch, and you don't have anything to work with."

"Well, that's our priority then," said Leonardo. "Tomorrow, we train. Jack discerns, Annie asks, Lisa strikes, and I sketch, to change the world, again!"

Leonardo da Vinci, notebook 101 page 1 (decoded):

I don't know what to think of meeting Alexander the Great! To think, the _world's_ _best_ pokemon coordinator and the most decorated one _ever_ too! I can't say how I feel in any sentences. However, I might be able to convey my feelings in poetry.

__What _I_ __Will_ __Do_

In the past,

It was great,

But will this be much better,

Only the gods can tell.

I will fight,

And I will invent,

The making of new things and also advent,

The making of new things,

That of so many will tell.

I have met,

And I have seen,

I will be tutored,

By the best,

I'll be helped by Jack, Annie,

The one I painted Lisa,

Alexander the Great,

All the rest.

It will be,

The Renaissance anew,

I will be flexible,

My mind will be playful again,

Tomorrow is our priority,

Tomorrow we will train,

Jack will discern

Annie will ask

Lisa will strike

And I, Leonardo will sketch

To change the world again.

5: Fall Down Dead

"Hurry up, Kleitis!" Jessie was always impatient, but she was now even more impatient, considering what this Macedonian did. He was a good bodyguard, but almost nothing else. He knew much about Alexander, and that was their other reason for bringing him back in the first place.

Kleitis emerged from the back of the shop, garbed in his cuirass, helmet, and greaves. "What is it now, Jessie? I've already gotten you guys this shop. I'm offering up my information about Alexander. What else do you need? Or want?"

"Actually," Meowth said, "We _do_ want something. We want to see where your friend is." Meowth was one of the few people in Team Rocket that had their sanity. He didn't just talk: he was biped, not a quadruped like most pokemon.

"Calesthenes?" Kleitis smirked. "He's not worth the elements he's made out of. He's on yours and my side, not a surprise. But he can be on his own if you had permitted it. He would be okay; he would hire and persuade people to work for him. Just like you."

"Yes, just like us," said James. He had _finally_ dyed his hair not just purple, but it was striped purple and dark green. "The only difference is that he is either an orator or an infantrymen with his sword and javelins, nothing more. I, on the other hand, are a gentlemen, a superb pokemon trainer, and a thief. Jessie is the beautiful, cunning one, who no one expects to do such bad things. But she does."

"Yes I do!" Jessie cried out. "I _am_ the only beautiful one. I am also the one who suggested to bring back you, Kleitis, here and Calesthenes, in the first place. You Kleitis, you're not the sharpest sword in the army, but you're useful for Alexander intelligence."

"Calesthenes is our instrument for our plans," said Meowth. "He carries out our orders and you only do so when needed. Think of it like this. You're the flute player, Calesthenes is the flute. Or, he is the primary cavalry mount, and you are the remount."

"But really," Kleitis wondered, "how did Alexander, get so, um."

"Powerful?" said James.

"Smart?" said Jessie.

"Terrifying and short-tempered?" said Meowth.

"Guys," said Kleitis restlessly, "I'm going to get Calesthenes. He's probably in his room. We need to rethink our strategy."

"Go ahead," James called as he saw the Macedonian turn his back and walk to the back of the `rented` Sports Mart.

Kleitis turned and went up the stairs. He approached the room on the left, Calesthenes's room. In the middle was his room, and on the right were the three separate rooms of Jessie, James, and Meowth. He knocked three times on Calesthenes's door. There was no answer.

"Hello?" Kleitis called. There was no response from inside, no "I'm busy!" or no "Come in, please!" There was just silence.

"Get out here!" he shouted, pounding the door.

"Okay, okay," an annoyed voice said. Calesthenes opened the door, his dark green eyes scanning the hazel ones of Kleitis. His red hair was a mess. What had he been doing?

"Kleitis, what does Team Rocket want me for _now?_ They have already forced _us_ to be their slaves, their servants, their soldiers. We know about Alexander much more than they do. I've known him for 10 years! Why can't _we,_ _we,_ fight him, not them?"

Calesthenes expected Kleitis to say something like, "True! We shall have to deal with these halfwits however. They had the money to hire us and maybe, more people like us. We do not."

He, on the contrary, did something completely different. His face, once its usual neutral expression, changed to that of confusion and pain. His hands clenched into fists.

"Why! What have I done!" he screamed. His coarse voice echoed around the upstairs landing. He reached behind his back, felt at the other side of his shirt. He brought it back into view, and it was dripping with blood.

"What have I done! What-" His voice, at first loud, now trailed off. He put his hand behind his back once more, clamping his palm over the wound. His body slackened. He fell onto his side, his hand still over the injury. Calesthenes grasped his wrist; his pulse had just ceased. Kleitis was dead, again. But not by Alexander's hands, no. By someone else's.

Out of respect, Calesthenes placed Kleitis's hands at his sides and closed his eyes before examining him. He removed the shirt and looked at his back. There was a gash about three inches long and of an eighth of an inch in breadth. A scar that he knew Kleitis had received previously had broken open to make the new cut. He had never told him or Team Rocket how he had gotten it. The blood had run down his spine down to the top of his jeans in thick, finger-width streams. Calesthenes put the shirt back on, and he wrapped Kleitis's body in a blanket. _ I'll bring it downstairs to burn._ He thought solemnly. _ Though Team Rocket doesn't really like him, he deserves his final rights._

He made his way down the stairs and approached the trio of pokemon thieves.

"Oraudis, there you are!" exclaimed Meowth in sarcastic worriment. "We were thinking you were out of action."

"Actually," said Calesthenes, uncovering the upper half of the body, "that is true for _him."_ He motioned with a finger at his comrade. "He came to get me and, and, he just fell down dead. I performed an amateur autopsy. His scar-" He stopped, uncomfortable to say it. "His scar opened up again and he bled to death."

"So what are we going to do, then?" asked Jessie.

"Are we just going to leave him like this?" said James. "Even we're not that bad."

"I was thinking," Calesthenes said slowly, "that we could burn him and let his ashes travel to the wind."

"That is nice," said Jessie, sighing. "His spirit won't be confined to a casket. Less work for us, too. And he just might be able to get back to Greece. Back to his home."

"I'll do it," said Calesthenes. "Go, Charmander. Flame Thrower. Do it hot, but do it gently. I don't want to set this shop on fire."

Calesthenes's lizard-like pokemon focused a flame at the body. It enveloped it, and it began to burn. The flame grew hotter and hotter until the body had turned to ashes. "Return, Charmander," he said. He put Kleitis's ashes in a small bag before the group of four departed.

The party exited the store and turned down a side street. They came upon a trail that led to the shore of Lake Valor in Estoria City. Its blue waters gleamed in the noon sunlight.

"Kleitis," Jessie called, "though you have died in service to your comrades, you will be honored lavishly, but simplistically."

"You will not be confined to a coffin," said James.

"You will be free, flying on the wind!" cried Meowth.

"We hope that Hermes will be merciful and the judges of the dead sympathetic," proclaimed Calesthenes. "We hope Alexander has gotten his wish. He is dead!" all four of the Team Rocket members cried. "You have your wish, Alskander!"

"We are paying you respect not out of reverence," said Jessie, raising her voice, "but because of your companion."

Each of the four, even Meowth took up a handful of disintegrated bones and scattered them to the wind. They floated with the wind's current, traveling across Lake Valor and beyond.

They turned around and went back to the Sports Mart.

"We have to get back to the boss," said James. He grabbed four small suitcases from the front of the store. _ I didn't think we would use these so soon,_ he thought. "We have to get somewhere where we can rethink our plan. We also need to train you, Calesthenes to use different weapons."

"True," said the historian. "Forget the boss. This is our plan now. Where will we go?"

"Oh quite far," said Jessie. "To Saffron City. I heard there's a gym leader there who can help us."

"Sebrina, sure. But after we take care of a little business with the twirps. We'll go to Saffron City on Sunday. But now, we visit the supposed Great."

Jessie, James, Meowth, and Calesthenes walked through the back door of the store, and they slipped into a small white car. It had a red R on each of its doors. Jessie took the wheel. "Time to rethink while on the road," she said. The four of them buckled up, and Team Rocket and Calesthenes Oraudis drove out of Estoria City.

"Do you think it worked?" Odysseus peeked out from behind the car, looking up into Calesthenes's window.

"It did," said Athena, pulling her long blonde hair out of her face to look too. "The dart curved around Kleitis into his back, as you predicted. For once, a goddess is working for a mortal," she said coldly. "But, I don't regret it. If I had shot the dart, it would have given a sign that I was there like a glow or something."

"But we used you, Odysseus." said Achilles, taking his goggles off from around his light green eyes. These goggles were a gift from Athena. They allowed him to see through the Mist, the magic enchantment that disguised things like monsters and gods. "By using you, this allowed us to make a discrete kill. Kleitis's remains were burned and scattered to the wind. A very solemn ceremony for Team Rocket."

Odysseus's bright sapphire eyes shone with excitement at what they had done: his first successful assassination. Just like Assassins Creed, except in real life. They had done a beneficial service for the Rock Circle and a negative one for Team Rocket. Now, Jessie, James, and Meowth would have to act with just Calesthenes, who was not much of a fighter. He was clever though, and that might help him fight. However, before taking any other course of action, they had to report to Alexander for orders.

"Let's see what Amon will make us do now," said Athena. The trio walked around the Sports Mart, crossed the street, and went down the same trail that Team Rocket had gone down. They turned into a small alcove. A web cam was waiting.

"Good," said Alexander. He was standing in his room. He was smiling coldly. "Team Rocket won't know what hit them. They won't even know it was our hands who did this. They will merely assume that Kleitis's scar opened again. You may come back to Pallet."

"Thank you, Alexander," said Achilles, bowing. "How's da Vinci?"

"Better than I thought," said Alexander, his smile widening. "I'm going to get him a starter pokemon tomorrow. Let's see how it turns out."

Arrian's Accurate, Friday April 2 2010: Thoughts on Team Rocket

Team Rocket. Pah! I shudder to think of what they plan to do now. They are the worst thieves in history. They are not even worthy opponents in pokemon battles. They use other people like how they did Pikachu to carry out their orders. They recruit people smarter than themselves instead of those not as smart as themselves. They unknowingly put their plans in danger by doing so.

Not only this, but they do not know how I roll. I use competent and smart agents, who are smart enough to follow my orders and loyal enough not to back-stab me when it's the critical time. When and if I act on my own, my daimon guides me. It says when to sleep, when to eat, when to call for help, and most of all, when to fight. It tells me what attack to do and how much of my stats I should use. It can be gentle as a calm sea, where it keeps my temper in check. In this state, my daimon helps me stay my cool and awesome self. However, it can also leave me unbelievably weak in battle. So weak that I can barely stay conscious, let alone alive.

In contrast, though, if my daimon tells me to use _all_ my power, to unleash all my intelligence in the final hour, I will do so. But, if it tells me to run directly into the enemy line with no armor or reinforcements or weapons, only to fight with my lightning and my Greek spells alone, I would do so without question. My daimon asks me to do one thing most of the time if it wants me to get rid of my power restraints: unleash your wrath and do not let _anyone,_ friend or foe, escape you. Let your friends see what happens if they defect to the enemy side. Let your enemies see what they get for not surrendering to you. Let your powers take over your body, your mind, your actions. Do not think of war, think in slashes and cuts. Do not think in parleys, think in bolts and earthquakes. Cause as much destruction as you can: cause fires at your displeasure, tsunamis at your approach, lightning storms with bolts hitting individual men even when you are injured.

All of these weapons are insignificant in comparison to two things: your appearance and your voice. Use these most of all to intimidate and kill at minimum or maximum cost to yourself and at maximum cost to your enemies to try to defend themselves against you. Light your arms ablaze and scorch your opponents alive or dead. If you see a group of soldiers amassed to try to kill you, let your battle cry or merely just a scream from your lips be heard. The enemy will not hesitate to flee. Your voice at a shout can shatter glass, armor and weapons, and yes, even stone and steel and flesh. You can cause your foes to die at just hearing such a fierce sound. Obey Alexander, now. Always. I command you.

6: The Match's Signs

"This is so awesome!" cried Annie. Annie, Jack, Leonardo, Lisa, and Alexander were visiting Professor Oak that day. When they had approached his gated home, they thought that Professor Oak was rich. But he did this just for the pokemon. They were everywhere: Snorlax lounged in the sun, Squirtel were splashing in the pool, Taylo were flying over the yard. A tall short-bearded man greeted them at the door.

"Welcome!" he shouted, grinning. "New trainers?"

"Yes," said Jack. "We need to get pokemon. Most of us are either older or younger than ten, but I am actually ten."

"Then it is time for you to get your first pokemon, then," said Professor Oak. "Who do you have here?"

"Annie," he said, motioning towards his sister. "Lisa del Gioconda.," he pointed at the brown-eyed lady in the Mona Lisa.

"Alexander-"

"Oh you don't need to introduce him!" exclaimed Professor Oak, smiling even wider. "He came here last year to receive his first pokemon! You got that fine Azelf of yours out of an egg that Professor Roan gave to me in 2004. He was saying that only one who is as intelligent and renowned as much as the movie Alexander was hated will be able to hatch this egg. And look! It has happened! Look where Azelf is now, serving _Alexander_ _the_ _Great!"_

"Awkward," said Leonardo. "Does this happen to you _all_ the time?"

"Yes, but not like this. Professor Oak, meet my friend and other idol, Leonardo da Vinci."

"I'm not even going to ask," said Professor Oak, unsurprised. "I heard from Darius Ackisan here that you were reading _Monday_ _with_ _a_ _Mad_ _Genius_ and that you liked it. He never, never, told me of _him,"_ he declared, jabbing a finger at Leonardo. "It is an honor. I would have had the place prearranged if you had told me of his arrival Alexander. Alas, you didn't. But no matter. I have plenty of pokemon to go around. Come inside."

There were pokemon inside Professor Oak's house as well. For example, a Scyther and a Staryu were fighting on swordplay on his Wii, out of all places. "The wii keeps the pokemon from fighting each other," Professor Oak explained. "It keeps them fit, too. Now, do you want to start with the normal starters first or the eggs?"

"The normal ones please," said Jack.

"First, we have our Charmander," said Professor Oak. As soon as Charmander heard it was being called, it came forward on its two legs and stared up at Jack. It did a Flame Thrower attack experimentally.

"And we have Squirtel," Professor Oak continued. A pokemon with a shell like a turtle's came up beside Charmander. It did an Aqua Ring attack.

"And we have Bulbasaur." _All of the pokemon are very intelligent if they can respond like this._ Jack thought as he watched. He knew all of the pokemon were trying to impress him enough so he would take them. Bulbasaur performed a Razor Leaf attack. "Now," said Professor Oak, looking at Jack, "who will you choose?"

"I choose Squirtel!" he exclaimed. Squirtel jumped into Jack's arms. It looked at him with surprise and wonder. He squirted jets of water down Jack's shirt. Jack loved every moment of it. Then it looked at Alexander. It stopped squirting water, and instead, it got down from Jack's arms and prostrated itself, lying facedown on the floor. It stood and made a sign across its chest, lifting a leg to touch the spot on his heart. This was normally done with a person's three fingers, the thumb, the middle finger, and the pinky up together, but since Squirtel didn't have them, it did the best it could.

Jack was confused. How did Squirtel know of Alexander's Persian king rights? He didn't want to ask. "It's your turn, Annie," he said.

"But, Jack, you know I'm only eight," said Annie. "I have to wait two years. Can you make an exception?" she asked Professor Oak. "I really don't want to be left behind while Jack goes on his pokemon journey like how Ash did."

"Of course you're not going to be left behind," Professor Oak chuckled. "You can have a pokemon, you just can't travel by yourself."

"I choose-" Annie started then stopped abruptly. "Wait," she said. "How many eggs do you have Professor Oak?"

"Call me Samuel. We have at least 6 eggs at a time," said Samuel. "We can never be certain what will be inside of them. But we have discovered that the personality of the trainer affects which egg hatches. For example as you may know, Togepi hatched in Misty's hands not because she was holding it, but because she has a gentle but occasionally protective nature like that of a mother, perfect for keeping Togepi safe. Brock got Happini for being this way too. However, he got Happini since Happini is a pokemon of healing and though Brock wants to be a pokemon breeder, he often heals pokemon effectively as well. Come over here and you can choose an egg."

Annie came over to a shelf lined with pokemon eggs. They were all different colors with different designs on them. "When an egg hatches," said Samuel, "the pokemon that is inside will think the first thing it sees is its mother, so I'll keep out of the way."

Annie looked at the eggs. _ I can't judge the eggs by what is inside then._ She reflected. _ I just have to judge by how it looks._ She stared at the 6 eggs for a long time. Then, she made her decision. She pointed to a light blue egg with green dots speckling it. "Why did you choose that egg?" asked Samuel.

"It's because it's like me," replied Annie with no hesitation. "It is uniform in every respect except for the green dots. I am like any other eight-year-old girl, except for the fact that I am very persuasive."

"That is quite clever for an eight-year-old," Samuel praised. Annie reached up and took the egg. It began to shake. Just like Misty's egg, fragments of shell began breaking off. A golden brown head with pointed ears popped out. A long tail, two arms and two legs popped out too. "Abra," it said.

"An abra!" cried Annie. "Just like Sebrina! Except I'll take better care of you." She picked up Abra. It did an amnesia attack, glowing in Annie's arms. "Thank you Samuel!" She embraced the professor.

Then Abra suddenly turned around. Annie turned too; Abra faced everyone else in the room, scanning all the faces as if trying to memorize them: Jack's, Lisa's, Alexander's... Abra suddenly came running forward and prostrated itself as well. It did the same sign that Squirtel had done, but after it had done so, it held out its arms, expectant. Alexander bent down and picked up Abra. It performed the move extrasensory, not knowing that it made the opponent, or in this case Alexander, flinch. Abra looked surprised, then it looked at who it had attacked. It turned sad. Why did it have to do it to _him?_ It squirmed down out of his grasp down onto the floor again.

"It's okay," he said gently, picking up Abra again. It made the sign once more. It looked like it was saying, "Sorry my Lord. I didn't know."

"Your Abra I'm guessing will be very strong," Samuel predicted. "I'm not sure why he attacked Alexander, though. Maybe he intended to do an attack that was beneficial for him."

It was Lisa's turn. "I want to look at the eggs as well,"

said Lisa. She approached the shelf. There were only five eggs left. She examined them closely. She was looking at two eggs in particular. There was a red one with silver stars on it, and there was an egg that was all black with just a slash of caramel to interrupt the uniformness. Lisa slowly but surely grasped the black egg in her hands. The egg shook once more. Pieces of egg loosed themselves from the main one like fleeing cavalry. A Zigzagoon emerged. It smiled at Lisa with intelligent eyes. "Cool!" she shouted.

"Lisa," said Leonardo, who had been watching the proceedings in silence until now, "why did you choose that egg?"

"It's because it's like me," she replied. "Its primary color, black, is something that a girl normally wouldn't like. It's dark and not very friendly. But then there is the caramel, a light brown. This color is subtle and delicate, like how I was raised to be as a noblewomen. But I'm mostly like the black color of the egg. Let's see, what kinds of attacks should you know," she mused, looking down at Zigzagoon. "Hmm, okay do Tri Attack!"

Zigzagoon sat in Lisa's arms stationary at first. It began to swipe at the air, touching Lisa on the cheek. She flinched. There was a burn there. But no matter.

"How about Swords Dance?" she shouted. Zigzagoon started to move its arms like it was doing swordplay, slashing and parrying the blows of an invisible foe.

"This is _so_ cool!" she shouted happily. "I love pokemon!" She noticed that when Zigzagoon saw Alexander, it performed the same rights that Abra and Squirtel had done. It executed the move Tri Attack once more. It burned Alexander just like what had happened to Lisa, except the burn was on his poketch hand, his left hand. He flinched. Zigzagoon looked to Abra for help. "Zigza," it squeaked to Abra.

"Abra," it replied. Zigzagoon knelt and attempted the three-finger sign again. "Well, I've gotten hurt twice today, but I don't mind. It's okay," Alexander laid a hand on Zigzagoon's head. Zigzagoon looked happy again. It ran back to Lisa, excited.

"Why are the pokemon doing this?" asked Samuel. "I have _never,_ _never,_ seen _anything_ like this."

"I think I have a theory," Jack proposed. "Annie, you know how Alexander is an Olympian? What is his sphere of control?"

"He's the god of brilliance and pokemon coordination," Annie replied, "but god of pokemon in general."

"I think I know too," said Alexander, knitting his hands together in thought. "It's my daimon. Sometimes, I feel so weak that I don't feel like fighting anymore, but my daimon keeps me alive. However, when doing this, I bottle up my powers. And when my daimon tells me to release this power, I cannot be controlled, and not even you or the gods can control me. When I meet people, even mortals, well, people can somehow sense this daimon. It inspires them to follow my orders since they know that my daimon can never be denied what it wants. And if it is denied what it wants, its wrath is limitless. No one can stop it."

An awkward but understanding silence followed. Everyone knew about Alexander's cool side: the side that loved Homer more than any other author, the Alexander who could talk about his battles for hours without stopping. But they almost knew nothing of the daimon that controlled Alexander. They just knew what he had told them. _It_ directed him, not his thoughts. The only thing they knew beforehand was that it could inspire awe in anyone it was around. _ The awe, Leonardo thought. That's why he can inspire people to do the prostration even if they had never met._

"Leonardo," said Jack tentatively to try to break the silence, "your turn."

"I'll look at the eggs too," said Leonardo to Samuel. He came up to the same shelf that Annie and Lisa had approached before him. He examined all four of the eggs. No, he _scrutinized_ them. He was trying to find the perfect match. He was looking at not two eggs like Lisa, but three: a gold egg with black lines running up and down it, a green egg with tiny orange dots on just the top of it, and then, the third egg. It was of four colors, its main colors being light blue on the sides and dark gold on the rest. Across the blue and gold, the egg was striped bright red and black. Leonardo first touched the egg cautiously with his finger, then with his whole hand, then with both hands. The group waited for it to hatch like the others. Annie and Lisa had gotten the eggs to hatch at their touch. Leonardo's choice egg just sat there. _ Did I choose the right one? He thought in dismay. This egg suits me._

Then, the egg, slowly but surely, began to hatch. Piece by piece, inch by inch, the egg began to break apart in Leonardo's hands. A tiny head with pointed ears emerged from the top of the shell. Then, two small pawed arms and a long tail came into view. It was a Vulpix, which like Abra, looked like a fox. The first fire type pokemon that any of them had seen in a long time.

"Vulpix," it said in delight when it saw Leonardo. It reached up to him and stroked his jaw.

"Don't worry," said Leonardo, grinning. "I'll take really good care of you. Just like what Susy would have done. You probably don't know who I am. And I'll tell you; I am Leonardo da Vinci."

Vulpix looked surprised and thrilled to hear this news. It did a Charm attack, but it didn't know it would lower Leonardo's Special Attack stat by two stages. Seeing that one stage was 20% and that Leonardo's Speed and normal attack stats were his high ones, he was startled to feel his Special Attack stat lowering. "Vulpix?" he said, unbelieving.

Vulpix looked sad. It had hurt its trainer. "Vulpix," it apologized and climbed down Leonardo's side onto the floor. It looked at Squirtel, Abra, and Zigzagoon. All were looking at Vulpix expectantly. _ What are they doing?_ Lisa puzzled over this sight until she saw Vulpix kneel at Leonardo's feet. "I will allow that Vulpix," Leonardo said softly. "But I am not worthy of such an honor. I am a mere artist. A genius in the Renaissance yes, but not the other interests of the world such as war, how to fight. Not I, but _he,"_ he pointed at Alexander, "is. He knows of the latter, not I. But I will train you with help from him.

You see that your fellows: Squirtel, Abra, Zigzagoon, look at you, presuming that you will pay respect. But you do not know what they are staring at you for. You just know that they do." Leonardo pointed at Alexander again. "He, he, is the one who all pokemon and pokemon trainers, old and new, prey to, hoping for success. Your friends have all sensed this originating presence and pay respect to it. Go, if you please, show yourself to your patron. I don't compel you, however. No one does."

Vulpix stood and thought for a moment. Then, it approached and prostrated itself, the fourth pokemon in one day to do so. It stood and made the three-fingered sign. As he watched, Samuel remembered something he had heard from Azelf. _ "This sign," she had said, putting three fingers on her heart and pushing out, "is the sign Greeks do to rid evil. It has become a blessing in recent years and do not be surprised if you see it done before you by many trainers."_

_I_ do see now! They do not know Alexander, but they know his _daimon,_ his _desire._

_Vulpix didn't do a Cut attack, but it mimicked one. It knew by the other pokemon's looks that even when pretending to do a move, it could not do it towards Alexander. No, do it away,_ if not straight up.

Vulpix slashed with its arms and it jumped high into the air. It spun, doing a Fire Spin attack in midair. It landed and walked back to Leonardo again.

"How graceful!" Samuel proclaimed. "Just like you, Leonardo. Fluid in movement, but still very powerful. You are just like your trainer Leonardo, Vulpix. He looks like a frail opponent, but you haven't seen him with a weapon in his hand and a worthy enemy in front of him. He'll become very hard to beat. His creativity in art becomes his intelligence in war. He comes up with sword moves that no one has thought of yet. You and Vulpix are one in the same, Leonardo," Samuel theorized.

"Well, we have all our pokemon finally," said Annie. "I can't wait to train you, Abra. I'll be sure to take your suggestions to heart."

"Me too," said Jack, Lisa, and Leonardo.

"Well, you can't train a pokemon to be strong and obedient without loving it," said Samuel. "Without loving it, training isn't training. It's slavery."

"With the grim thoughts aside, let's get out to the back yard," suggested Leonardo, picking up Vulpix. "Let's get it started!"

Leonardo da Vinci, notebook 101 page 2: (decoded)

Pokemon are so cool. They are so amazing. They can do more than normal animals, but not as much as us. Everyone should work with pokemon. They are beautiful in many ways, for even the terrifying ones are beautiful. I will start writing poetry, again.

__Unstopped_ __Fire_

Who can resist the feel of power,

Just within your reach?

Not Caesar, not Charlemagne, not Alexander, this feeling the least?

Controlled by his daimon, he moves in a direction,

Where he asks, what do I do, follow or disobey it?

He is just like my new pokemon,

Vulpix not evolved,

It knows no one but its master, and even that it barely comes to grips.

It can be gentle like a breeze, that cools the soldier's head,

Keeping it cold and free,

Or passionate like fire where nothing will satisfy.

You have to control the behavior, keep it in your hands,

But do not choke it with orders,

Or you will never make it listen.

Arrian's Accurate, Saturday April 3 2010: Thoughts on Leonardo, Jack, Annie, and Lisa

Jack, Annie, Leonardo, Lisa. I'm proud of all four of them. Annie's Abra has potential. Jack will be just like Ash: a little dull when not in battle, but clever when in one.

As for Lisa, she is just like how she describes herself: an in-your-face kind of personality. Perfect for a fight. But she's also very gentle, just like her Zigzagoon.

As for _Leonardo...? I don't know. His Vulpix I guess will end up fighting with him for a long time. They'll be pretty hard to beat, even when I battle them. He's creative in his art and in war, considering that he probably had to fight Team Rocket earlier before I met him._

_I will teach you Leonardo. You and your friends. I will teach you not just how to fight, but how to communicate with your pokemon. I'll show you the ropes. You will be taught by the_ _best._ _ Me._ I will be free any time you need to talk to me, Leonardo, Jack, Annie, Lisa. All of you.

7: Meet Two New Moves

"Let's have our first pokemon battle shall we?" said Jack. "Who can I battle now?"

"Me!" said Annie. She detached her first pokeball from her belt. "Abra I choose you!" Her fox-like pokemon came into view.

"I choose Squirtel!" shouted Jack. His turtle pokemon came out of its pokeball in a blaze of light. "Squirtel Aqua Ring!" Squirtel made a small ring of water appear above its shell. "Now use Bubble Beam!" A stream of bubbles came out of Squirtel's mouth.

"Abra dodge!" commanded Annie. "Use Extrasensory!" A ball of white light loosed itself from Abra's paws. It flew towards Squirtel and hit its shell, making Squirtel flinch.

"Squirtel Caller Spin!" Jack yelled.

Squirtel spun around and around about ten times while it ran at Abra.

"Abra Kinesis, then Slash!" Abra put a dark barrier between itself and Squirtel to lower its accuracy. Then, Abra ran at Squirtel and slashed with its arms out in front to hit its shell.

"Squirtel Bubble Beam!" Jack shouted desperately.

"Sorry Jack," said Annie smiling, "but as Alexander once said, "remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all." I have no idea what that means, but whatever you do will determine if you'll win or lose your first battle." _I'm not making fun of him. Annie thought. Just showing him what I can do._ "Extrasensory Abra then Slash one more time!" Before Jack could do anything, Abra had knocked Squirtel to the ground. It was unconscious.

"Squirtel is unable to battle!" proclaimed a voice, "Abra wins!" Jack and Annie turned to see Leonardo and Vulpix watching the battle. "Not bad Annie. No offense Jack. What Samuel said is right."

"Well don't want to brag," said Annie. "Honest. I just used what moves I had available to me. You know I'm-" "Guys!" A tall man with dark brown eyes and black hair came sprinting towards them from Professor Oak's back door. "Three trainers. Tied up Professor Oak. Free now but helping to steal his pokeballs. Come on! I'm Darius Ackisan by the way."

Jack' couldn't believe it. "When did you see that?" he asked Darius.

"Just now," said Darius. "These three trainers were leading Professor Oak around at Siviper-point. They're forcing him to give away all of the pokeballs and the actual pokemon. Let's get out to the front yard! That's where they are!"

Jack, Annie, Darius, and Leonardo went running as fast as they could towards the front yard. Annie could hear shouting from there. "By Florence's unfinished battle scene why is this always your fault!"

"That's Lisa for you," said Leonardo. "Let's help her."

The group of four walked in to find there to be a shouting match as well as a pokemon match. "Zigzagoon Tri Attack on Siviper and on Mime Jr!" Jessie's Siviper got burned and Mime Jr. was paralyzed.

"Mime Jr. return," said James, "Cacnea go!" James's round green pokemon came ready for battle. "Pin missile!"

"Skiddy go!" Darius loosed his Skiddy from one of his pokeballs. A cat-like pokemon came out. "Barrage! Pinsir come on out! Pin missile as well!" Skiddy charged at Cacnea, hit it over the head with its paws, and withdrew as the grass and bug pokemon started to have a sort of javelin fight at close range. They both got hit a lot and eventually Pinsir got insensate from the blows.

"Pinsir and Skiddy return," said Darius. His pokemon went back into their pokeballs. "Now it's time for me to fight." Darius pulled a small dagger from his belt. "Aria the Alphis I command you, command so we can fight in form!" he commanded.

Aria appeared in front of Team Rocket. Her gray eyes were understanding as soon as she saw what was going on. "Summon Alexander as well," she turned around to face Darius. "It's time Team Macedon fights its first war!" she exclaimed.

"Wait," said Jack. "All four of us Annie Lisa Leonardo can have a team as well-"

"Not while we're here," said Meowth. "It's time you heard our new motto!"

"Witness oh Muses the writing of a new play!"

"Where us not Achilles ruins the day!"

"We will not stop to establish our regime!"

"But as for Alexander we'll end his scripted scenes!"

"Jessie!"

"James!" "Meowth is the name!"

"We will be like Bessos after Gaugamela's battle,"

"We'll strike you down, and you'll surrender after!"

"Meowth, I lie of this never!"

"Team Rocket works with tactics made by us!"

"In ways that do-gooders won't do because,"

"You're not us! Go ahead, fight us!"

"That is really weird," remarked Lisa. "Do they always do that?"

"Yes, yes they do," sighed Aria. "At least it's short." _But wait until Team Rocket hears us._ She thought happily. "Oh you're not the only team," she said, "but we are as well!" Alexander ran out from behind Aria. "Take it away Alexander Iskander!"

"To protect the world from Team Rocket's devastation!"

"To conquer and control with the Great's nation!"

"To break down what Team Rocket of the people it has made!"

"You should surrender or feel Alexander's blade!"

"Alexander!"

"Darius!"

"Aria, do we really have to do this?"

"Team Macedon will step off at Team Rocket's sight!"

"Surrender now or all three of us you will fight!"

"Choose a side!"

"And that," said Alexander, pointing at the three of them with both hands, "is what a good motto should be like."

"Really?" said Meowth sarcastically. "I couldn't understand you through your Greek accent."

"Oh no, not again," Darius moaned as he watched. _ He's that_ defensive about the nation he comes from. But I don't blame him. He's always saying how he's Macedonian and not _Greek._

"Azelf go! Psybeam!" The blue-gray pokemon sent a white beam of energy at Meowth and Meowth just dodged in time. "Fury swipes!" he yelled and he felled Azelf in one blow.

"Yes!" Meowth shouted jubilantly. "I have beaten Alexander the-" Before he could finish, Alexander was on top of him. Meowth was being beaten into a pulp as Aria and everyone else watched.

"Should we help him?" asked Jessie to James.

"Nah," said James. "If he comes out dead, then blame it on him for being his ignorant self. We'll be going now," he said to Leonardo.

"Oh no you don't," he replied, calling for Vulpix. "Fire Spin!" Flames engulfed Vulpix, but Jessie's Siviper countered with a Poison Tail, striking Vulpix down. No one else noticed that Professor Oak had managed to get out from behind Team Rocket, and he was pointing at Meowth who was still getting the living daylights beaten out of him. "Look," he told Jack, Annie, Lisa, and Leonardo.

Meowth was being held upside down by his legs, and he was trying to fight his way out of his attacker's grip. Ichor was trickling down Alexander's arms from where Meowth had scratched him, but it seemed these wounds strengthened him. Then, Meowth finally got a leg free and kicked at the Macedonian's face, hitting him in the jaw.

Aria wanted to shout for Alexander to drop Meowth and to heal his wound, but she couldn't. She watched as Meowth got bitten in the leg. He screamed in pain as blood rushed from the small gash. He fell at Alexander's feet in a coma. "Meowth!" cried out Jessie and James as Jessie took up Meowth and looked at him. His leg was bleeding much, even though the cut was small. Meowth was rigid as well, eyes closed, and it seemed that he wouldn't be able to fight for a while. "How?" they stammered, staring at Meowth's assaulter in awe.

"To defend myself, of course. I _never_ take up a defensive position. If I have to defend, I attack. Your comrade has felt this." The Team Rocket duo stared at their enemy, his gray blue dark brown eyes fiery with rage at what he had seen Meowth do to Azelf. His first pokemon! Unbeaten by them until today! "I'll make this easy for you." James suddenly felt pain in his head and he fell over. Guillotine," he said with satisfaction. "One hit knock out, if it hits. Of course, only if I intend to miss an opponent, I never miss."

"I won't let you take me!" Alexander turned to see Jessie with another pokeball clasped in her hand. She had taken it from James. "I will verse you. Call me Bessos if you will. Go Weezing!" James's poison pokemon came out of its pokeball, ready for the most important match of its life.

"Oh I will not battle you," Alexander contradicted what Jessie believed, "but Leonardo will. Your pokemon you will find is fully healed."

"Vulpix go!" exclaimed Leonardo, throwing his pokeball into the air. Vulpix emerged-. It didn't look hurt at all. "Give me your pokedex Darius," he said, "I want to check something." Darius handed over his portable pokemon database and placed it over Vulpix.

"Vulpix normally has the ability Magma Armor which prevents freezing. However, this Vulpix has Clear Body, an ability that prevents the pokemon's stats from being lowered." _Cool, thought Leonardo excitedly. I can battle and Vulpix can stay in battle for a long time._

_"Vulpix Fire Spin!" Vulpix was surrounded by flames as it ran at Weezing._

_"Weezing, Sludge!" commanded Jessie. Weezing started to shoot brown sludge at Vulpix. The fire surrounding Vulpix burned it away before it could do harm to it. "Smoke Screen!" The yard became hazy as Weezing lowered Vulpix's Accuracy by 20%._

_"Vulpix Charm!" Vulpix lit up, making the Smoke Screen attack end, and Leonardo could see Weezing. It shuddered as its Special Attack stat was lowered by 40% like how Leonardo had experienced earlier that day. "Can your Weezing do anything more?" Leonardo called. "It seems it only knows two attacks. It's useless. In fact, this whole battle is useless seeing that we all have pokemon that only know two moves."_

_"Oh and that is where you are wrong," said Jessie. "Weezing Toxic!" Weezing lunged forward and struck at Vulpix before it could dodge. Its stats were fine, but the damage would bring it down._

_"Fire Spin again!" Leonardo invoked. Vulpix did the move, but Leonardo could tell that its damage wouldn't be as strong as it was before Toxic came into play. "Charm again!" A tremor racked through Weezing as its Special Attack stat was lowered even more._

_"Sludge again!" James yelled. "Finish that Florentine twirp off!" Vulpix couldn't keep its flames up long enough to burn the poison away. It screamed as the sludge hit it. What can I do? Leonardo thought frantically. I don't know enough about Toxic or any other moves, but the Toxic damage grows every turn. I don't know by how much though!_ He closed his eyes, trying to think.

Then, Leonardo felt himself moving. His arms swung around in an arc. He opened his eyes to see a clear beam of energy come out of his hands. The two arcs of energy curved together to form a half circle, and when they hit a nearby post, they wrapped around it, constricting themselves on its metal surface. _ What did I just do?_ He wondered. He turned back to the battle. Vulpix, hurt as it was, was still fighting. And, it was doing exactly what Leonardo had just done! The beams shot toward Weezing. "weezing dodge!" Jessie ordered, but the clear beams had already encircled Weezing. It shook one last time, then fell. The beams continued and struck James, then Jessie, then the paralyzed Meowth. "Looks like we're being beamed off again!" they screamed.

"What," said Leonardo reluctantly, looking where Team Rocket had stood before, "did I just do?"

"I think," said Aria, "you discovered a new move."

"Samuel," said Jack, facing Professor Oak, "what did Alexander do to Meowth?"

"The only explanation is a new pokemon move," said Samuel. "Normally pokemon don't really get hurt that bad in battles. They just get poisoned or paralyzed, but this, this, actually got Meowth cut. A very serious one too. However, it's not the cut that felled him. It was his stats. They were lowered as much as they could possibly be lowered without getting him ill from weakness. Let's rely on Darius's pokedex to tell us what these moves should be named and I'll tell the other professors to add them to the attackdex along with Caller Spin and Electrofoil."

Samuel pointed the pokedex at Alexander. Then, he typed in the effects of the move: Meowth being paralyzed, his low stats, his cut. The group listened intently to the pokedex's response.

"This attack has never been seen in battles recently, but it is said that it is similar to Bite, though it does not cause flinching. It was first mentioned in Persian legend. It had been told that anyone who learns Cut Down will be unstoppable. This attack cannot miss, it is a one-hit knock out, and it lowers the opponent's stats to the lowest stage. The stats taken from the opponent are added onto the user's own stats. This attack can be used no matter what the user's stats are. Attack information: Name Cut down, Type dark, Power 100, Attack 100, Accuracy 100."

"That is the strongest move I've ever heard of," said Annie. "not just because I haven't seen that many moves, but its effects," she trailed off then started again. "They're so devastating."

"Perfect move to teach a weak pokemon if you're brave enough," Jack agreed. "Now, what about what Leonardo did?"

Lisa took the pokedex and typed in the effects of the move Leonardo had done. The pokedex replied, but its verdict was much shorter than the last.

"This move has never been seen before, and it is unnamed. Available attack information: Type normal, Power 80, Attack 90, Accuracy 100."

"We know everything about it but its name," said Lisa. "How about we name it after its, um, discoverer?"

"Me?" said Leonardo in disbelief. "Well if you want. Considering what it looked like and that it was discovered by me, why not call it da Vise?"

"Sure," said Samuel. "Two moves discovered in one day. A first. What will you do now?"

"Not sure," said Alexander. "I feel like either finding those pathetic pokethieves and Calesthenes or training Leonardo more. I've decided on the training part. But, you guys need to get somewhere where you can train out of danger. I'm not going to send you away forever, just until things settle down."

"How about Sorulian City?" posed Aria. "It's far away enough that you guys will be safe, but close enough that we'll be able to contact you."

"Sure," consented Lisa. "When will we leave?"

"Later today if you want," said Samuel. "I'll miss you guys, but you can come back any time you need to or want to."

"Yeah," said Leonardo. "Let's get back to Alexander's place. We need to pack."

8: Change Names

Arrian's Accurate, Sunday April 4 2010: Thoughts on the Leaving

I didn't want Leonardo to leave me so soon. He was one of the few people that actually listened to and took my advice for me to teach them. He'll be a great pokemon trainer. I know it. As for Jack and Annie, they'll have Leonardo to teach them and they'll have each other. Lisa, well, she can also be one of my pupils.

When Misty went back to Sorulian City after the pokemon contest, I told her besides to watch for Team Rocket to do one other thing. If she met anyone who said that they know me and that they needed a place to stay, she should first ask who they were, then let them into her house without question. Misty, I hope you'll remember that when you meet those four. They're too important to lose.

As for Team Rocket, they will be very busy because of me for the next four weeks, seven weeks at the most. They need to heal Meowth, and they need to figure out how to fight with no Kleitis. They might think of making an alliance with Cassody and Butch. They probably think they're that desperate. I can make people like that.

From now on, I'm not naming this organization the Rock Circle, but the Hellenic League. I need to get more of my own people into the League, so I can get Greek approval for my actions as well as approval from America.

I have ordered that my sister should be sent back to Macedon. I feel that much will happen while the army is being recruited and trained, and I know that she will be useful elsewhere. I am not sending her away, but she will do more important business for me. She will help me hire more Macedonian recruits. In addition, she will be of much help to me in other ways, for she can be my secondary Macedonian diplomat. I will send her to deal with matters of high rank, but that are not worthy of me. I shall preside over the rest myself. She may be there a while, so I will not be surprised if I do not have any time to contact her. She will still get information, though, and she will always be ready for if I need her so come to Pallet.

There are some videos on the Internet that I need to check out though. I found them last year. They're called Reign the Conqueror, and they're a parody of my campaign. The person who made them did a good job. I have to see if GordianThong made more episodes. He'll be of use to me with his antics.

No one knows anything about my mind set. I can think from any point of view, even from that of Team Rocket. I have to take what I once said to heart. But for now, I have written my mission in Homeric style.

_End_ _of_ _the_ _Historian_

Just had to mess with me,

Just had to get on my bad side,

Using Kleitis,

Will be your last act, mean it I,

You don't deserve lenience from me,

It's too late to surrender,

There will be no way for you to escape,

From the search of Alexander.

You running many miles,

Always glance behind,

Dagger in your hand,

An arc you're slashing wide,

You see below the helmet,

You really can't believe,

You will never be allowed here again,

Not when the leader is me.

You try to send your envoys,

"I will never betray,"

But I know that you lie,

You don't mean what you say,

You will never evade,

The search of Alexander.

You want to say you're sorry,

You want to say "I don't mean!"

But who will believe all that, no one will really,

You know you will die,

But you don't know I will wait,

For just the right time,

Till you try to escape.

Just had to mess with me,

Just had to get on my bad side,

Using Kleitis,

Will be your last act, mean it I,

You don't deserve lenience from me,

It's too late to surrender,

There will be no way to escape,

From the search of Alexander.

PROPHECY CONTROLLED

(Amonniad Series Four)

CHAPTER ONE NOTES: I don't have to say much about this chapter. It takes place about a month after the events of History Retactics. I know this series happens in a short time frame, but I assure you, this will take longer to finish. The episode of Companions is real and everything said or written is real word for word.

1: Get Back to Things

I sat on the floor at Ash's house. I hadn't been there since about four months ago when I went to a party there, so it was nice to be back. I was watching Companions along with my big group of friends. Companions is this series about the people here in the Hellenic League, especially Alexander and Hephaistion. It's not a normal documentary series however; Adam Usnitch, the producer and main cameraman for the show, gets messed with a lot. He's constantly falling off things, saying things he would never say without persuasion, and of course, getting his camera stolen. Typical Macedonians working with the typical guy from Arizona.

Anyway, we were watching the episode where he was filming me finishing History Retactics. Though it was a rerun, more than a month old, we never got tired of watching any of the episodes, especially this one. When everyone had read the new book, they had all agreed that it was the best one in the series to date. "This is so cool!" critiqued Hephaistion. "I can't believe this; you even got the intelligence about Kleitis dying. I love it!"

"Me too," agreed Pikachu, glancing at Ash's TV again. "Who knew that you could come up with something so, so," "Hard to describe?" offered Darius. He knew he hadn't been much of an influence in the third book, but he was happy. He had gotten his chance before. "Sure, that works."

"Oh my gods, I wasn't sure if you could make something as epic as The Power Misused, but I guess I was proved wrong. That was one of the best things I've ever read!" Let me explain. Getting a good review of anything from Alexander was a good sign because what he has said and what he will say in this organization was and is what goes. "I am officially kicking Christopher Paolini off my favorite authors list!" he declared, not caring that Aria Alphis, who was sitting next to him, still liked the Inheritance Cycle author even after finding out about the Eragon movie they had made and after rereading the trilogy to discover how bad it actually was.

"Does he mean it?" asked Triana, glancing at Darius from across the couch. When she saw the look on his face, she knew. Yes, he meant it. "Wait," Cam held up a hand. "It's on again."

The group watched the TV intently. We all wanted to see how Usnitch did this part. "Anything you have to say to the people who are watching?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I replied, "except this: thank you for filming all my progress during the past few months. This is getting more fun to do every day. And," I said, looking at who sat behind me, "that is because of my awesome editing team."

"Wait," Carn said, "doesn't Odysseus edit for you?"

"He does, but a certain someone always hacks his computer and brings the files to you guys. You guys read it and since I get multiple opinions, you make the writing even better."

"So doing that was worth it?" asked Alexander, locking eyes with me.

"Sure but-" "You did that?" gasped Triana. "I thought, I thought, uh, something else like, like, Ilium copied it and lost the original."

"That is like him," he mused, looking straight into Usnitch's camera, "and Odysseus if you're watching, I, I, am the one who's been hacking your computer to get the `supposedly classified` files of this book series! Yes, it's me! Not Cam, not A7 who works for me, certainly not Carn, me!"

"And," the Macedonian said, talking over his own recording, "is where Usnitch cut off his filming."

"I'm just wondering," said Adam, "what did you say when I turned the camera off?"

"Oh, some big speech about how awesome my tactics are and all that." Alexander didn't seem to care that he was being filmed right now, and maybe we should have told him. "Dude," I ventured, preparing for the long list of questions ahead, "we're being filmed right now. You're admitting this to the world or at least the United States at large."

I thought he would start yelling in Macedonian and throw Adam and I out. His temper has improved significantly considering how he was when he was in his late twenties and early thirties, but he could be angered at the smallest things. He would start ranting on and on about it with some pretty damn good arguments against the thing mixed in. But this time, he just stared. "And to think," he said in fascination or was that sarcasm, "I thought you just copied me."

"We do," I said, "but not as much. I don't write screwed-up histories like another certain someone who Aristotle knows."

"Don't say that about Aristotle's nephew!" he protested. "What if he hears?"

"Well, now that he knows the facts, he doesn't really like him anymore," said Aria. "Wow Tracey, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm working on my fourth book, Prophecy Controlled right now," I told them.

"But how?" asked Alexander, looking at me.

"I'm going to write down this conversation and I'm using it for the first chapter of this book."

"So, it'll be like everything we do and say will be recorded, even when we don't want it to. But feel free!"

"I didn't think you would say that," I informed him, "but how does it feel to know that what we're saying now will be in a book?"

"It seems pretty cool, funny, and creepy. And violent, seeing what I do all the time."

"Take his word," Adam advised me. "He means it."

"You know," Aria continued, "I did notice that you were having lots of trouble coming up with ideas for the third book during the past month. What happened?"

"Maybe it's 'cause I ended the third book too well," I said. "There are some issues that need to be settled like Calesthenes and Leonardo da Vinci and all, but not much else. I'm kind of sad that it will all be over in just a couple of weeks," I confessed. "I really love writing books about you guys, you know that. That's mostly why I'm not telling Odysseus about the computer."

"You're not?" Alexander asked disbelieving. He knew if Odysseus found out that someone was messing with him, he would want to find out who it was and fast. "Of course not," I responded.

"You're worth much more than that Greek, even if he is from your favorite book, anyway," added Aria gently, putting an arm around Alexander.

Ever since they had met last year out on the streets in Pallet, well, it was love at first sight. He liked Aria since she liked his rough and unfinished, yet smooth personality that showed up at times. He didn't like luxuries most of the time; he liked things to be hard for him, something that offered a challenge, just like her. Aria liked this about Alexander. When she found out who he really was back in February 2009, she had sworn that she would try to make how long she could spend with him the best few years, months, weeks, or possibly days, the best of his life. She was easy-going and she could tolerate all the things he did and she even thought they made him unique and different from all the other guys she could have seen and had seen ever.

She wasn't like most girls; she didn't care about how he looked, what he said, where he took her and what they did and Alexander felt the same way about Aria. Everyone who had ever seen them together could tell that they were very close. They had been through a lot since last year.

People also wondered why they were still dating, it was because if you had a couple like this, it was like them to do this kind of thing. They wouldn't have ever met if they hadn't met in the park and struck up a conversation. And before you knew it, Alexander and Aria were as famous a duo as Brad and Angelina, but without the scandal. They openly admitted that they were dating whenever they got media attention; they didn't care. They wanted everyone to know and a way of doing this was to go on obvious dates.

About every two weeks on Friday or Saturday, Alexander and Aria would go somewhere together. Whether it was Starbux or Sushi Boat, it was always somewhere everyone expected. They went to unexpected places too; several times, they went to Laser Quest to play with their friends and they would be on a team together. They would go shooting at the shooting gallery or they would go train a few miles out of town in the forest for an afternoon.

And, the strangest and coolest thing was that if anyone saw them and said, `hey it's Alexria!` they didn't mind. On the contrary, they welcomed the attention. "Yes," Aria would state clearly and loudly, "we're back again! Is this getting surprising? Because if it is, you're new to this. We don't keep secrets like this, we tell them to everyone within earshot!"

"That's right!" Alexander would back Aria up, "like how earlier today I saw that there were some historians who were fighting over when I fought the battle of Issos!"

"Why?" Aria would ask.

"'Cause we, especially I, am worthy of being fought over, and 'cause we're awesome!" Everyone within earshot would laugh and then leave them alone.

This is the world that I had been invited to when I met Alexander and now I'm part of it. But now, let's see some more action from a different point of view.

CHAPTER TWO NOTES: This is the first chapter where it switches perspectives. I managed to get all parts of the story. How I received all of this you may ask? I was invited to watch and take notes. Hope you enjoy. To all who know about their unique relationship, Aria and Alexander say `Hi world!`

2: Two Meet

I saw the couple, the god and the demigod, leave Ash's house almost at six. They were obviously going to spend lots of time together this time. They beckoned me and I followed. We didn't go to some local restaurant, but we had to drive a ways from town. Aria had taken the wheel. I know what you might be thinking: these two were going to drive, talk in a couple-ish kind of way, playing romantic music in the background. It was the complete opposite. We didn't take our time driving-Aria swerved into the Carpool Lane. They didn't talk about how they looked or any love gossip, they cut each other off a lot, trying to say what they had been waiting to tell the other for the past two weeks. Most of the time, it was news or things they heard on the radio or off the street. And, to make things even more like them, they didn't go to 96.5 Koit and listen to love songs and hold hands. They did things very very unlike that.

On this Friday night, as soon as everyone was buckled up, Alexander reached over and turned on and turned up an All American Rejects CD he had burned. Then, the talking began. "Did you hear about what's happening with Ash and Dawn?"

"No? What kind of thing is going on?"

"Ash and Dawn go to the same school now-" "Hold up. How did it get like this?"

"Ash is going to Class Collect Middle and High School and Dawn heard and she begged her dad to transfer there."

"Now what?" Alexander asked eagerly.

"They're in the same classes and they sit at the same table and are on the same team for stuff in PE. It's like this for every period."

"Anything else?"

"Oh, and they're eating together three days a week."

"No way! Why only three days? Why not all five?"

"They give each other breathing space."

"But still, that's totally like them, they don't, like, imitate what Brock and Nurse Joy do at all!"

"But Aria remember? Brock doesn't have a girlfriend! He'll never have a girlfriend! He wasn't destined-" "to get a girlfriend," Aria finished. "I know. But Alex, what do they do?"

"Well," Alexander was talking faster and faster and it was making it hard for me to take note of his words, "they never ever reject what the other person says unless it's really stupid."

"Like what don't they reject?"

"Ash suggested for them to take the Extras class during the summer if possible and-" "What did Dawn say?"

"Well, she loved the idea and they're signing up. The class starts the first week in June and runs all the way through July."

Their conversation continued like this until they reached a fork in the road. Aria turned right onto a smaller street, then left onto a dirt road. Then, she opened the car door and the trunk; there was a picnic basket and two backpacks inside.

The couple swung the backpacks onto their backs and held the basket between them. Trying to stay out of the way, I followed behind. "Don't be silly," said Aria, handing me a backpack as well, "come on. If you're just going to take notes, it's not worth coming at all!"

"Where are we going?" I asked as we started to walk on a small trail that wound through the forest.

"Oh you'll see and you'll love it. A lot."

We had to walk a couple miles on the trail and when it ended, our trio stopped in a sizable clearing. There were a couple stone tables sitting side by side. There was a cabin close by with solar panels attached to the roof. Or were those sculptures someone had carved into the wood? I couldn't tell. There was a fire pit behind the cabin. It looked like someone's summer cabin, but it looked like it was being used. "Who uses this place?" I wondered out loud as Aria set the picnic basket on one of the tables. "Who does this belong too?"

"Us of course!" she laughed and helped Alexander and I remove our packs, "we built this place last year over the summer. We used a little money and some hard work to make this. We go here about every six weeks just to get away from it all, you know."

"Kind of like Philip's summer palace, if he had one," Alexander explained, opening their basket. There were olives, cheese, and panini bread, but no lamb. "We don't really feel like having meat tonight," the Macedonian at Aria's side explained. "Not that we're vegetarians, we just want snack foods tonight. Come on help us!"

The three of us baked the bread over the fire and instead of piling it high with food, we just ate the bread how it was, still hot and covered in grill marks. Aria took soda cans out of her pack and we toasted Alexander's godship, of course. No talking interrupted the crunching of the bread, the squish of the olives as their juices were being sucked out. I was wondering if we were going back to Pallet now, but Alexander grabbed my arm saying, "Wait up. We don't just eat here. We spend the night here."

"Really?" I widened my eyes at him.

"Really." He smiled, pointing at the cabin. "Let's unpack, everyone." When I walked inside, I didn't see any beds. Or bunks. Or anything that was what I thought a camping cabin was supposed to be like. There were just bundles of cloth and boxes stacked against the wall.

We all took up a couple boxes and we opened them up outside. I gasped; there were massive pieces of cloth like the walls of a tent, and really long poles whose function I was unsure of.

Then, I opened up one of the boxes-there were some gold plates, gilded knives, and lots more gold. "What, what is all this?" I stammered, looking at all the finery.

"We're pitching a tent." was Alexander's simple reply. "Can you just get all the walls up please? I'll explain."

I didn't want to argue, so I did so. When we were done, we had pitched a tent that was about thirty feet square. The long poles, I realized, were the columns supporting it and while rummaging through the stuff, I had found a huge gold and silver box. It was large enough for someone to lie inside and it looked like a bathtub, a really ornate and valuable bathtub. And it was a bathtub. It was the same one that Alexander had received after the battle of Issos. _So much gold for one _person. I thought.

"Check it out." Alexander swept his arm around the tent as Aria and I entered. "Welcome, honored guests. Tell me, who are you and where are you from? What do you do for a living, for I see red and white balls hanging from your belts."

We played along for we knew he was a king at heart and that he still knew what that involved. "I am Tracey Esteron," I said, prostrating myself. I showed him my Vaporeon, "and I am a pokemon trainer."

"I am Aria Alphis," Aria said, showing her Flarion's pokeball and her blue poketch to him, "and I am a pokemon coordinator. Coordinators use their pokemon to win battles and to make presentations that are visually appealing. We win contest ribbons and after we win five of them, we get to go to the Grand Festival."

"Interesting," he commented. "Please sit down and enjoy a place at my fire."

Alexander's notes: This is where I let Alexander take over with the writing. By the way, he uses almost no apostrophes at all. I tried to convince him to use them and he refused. Oh well. He said he wanted to keep it like the past him.

These strangers, sitting around my fire, they seem like people of good birth. Why would they be here if they were going to do me a misdeed? I am taking a chance, of course, but I have done this before.

The one named Tracey told me that she is a daughter of Apollo. Amazing! She is related to one of the Muses then! I want to know how life is like being a demigod; they must be able to do some things us mortals are unable to do. Like cracking rocks open with lyres like Orpheus. But, I also know that Apollo is the god of poetry, so what Tracey has told me about her writing books makes sense.

Tracey has a traveling companion with her named Aria and she tells me that she is a pokemon trainer and coordinator. She had explained all of the practices of trainers and coordinators to me as soon as she saw my gaze land on the red and white sphere clutched in her hand. She told me that pokemon are creatures with abilities that a normal animal does not have and that in some ways, they can mimic the gods. They use `pokemon moves` to defend themselves like the Fire Spin attack she showed me, using her Flarion. She explained that every pokemon has a set of statistics for HP, Health Points, Attack, Defense, Speed, and Special Attack and Special Defense and every time a pokemon wants to use one of its moves, it uses some of these stats.

I understood most of the terms well, but I did not comprehend what Special Attack and Defense were. I found out that these statistics are used for Special moves., moves that raise or lower these stats in the user or opponent. They are used to do moves that do not make physical contact, like normal attacking and defending moves.

I take all this knowledge in, every little bit of it. But, I want to know more, much more-where did pokemon come from, how many varieties are there, how does one get one? During the night, I may come up with even more questions that become even more specific. However, I know that no matter how curious I may be, I must respect the rules of hospitality. I will feed and rest my guests today and feed and rest them only. Tomorrow, I will ask the questions I desire.

Tracey claims that she is using the words I say now to write another book. I really want to know what it is about and how it involves me, but as I have said before, I must acknowledge hospitality rules. These travelers may be very tired from hundreds of miles of journeying across tough terrane and for all I know, women cannot normally do this kind of thing without a male escort. They have both told me that with their pokemon, they can defend themselves and when I inquired of their travels as you should do when you receive a guest, myself included, they informed me that they did not have to travel very far and that they just needed a place to lodge, eat, and train in for a couple days. I am unsure of what kind of training they mean, but I think I know: pokemon training.

I lie in bed now, thinking of all these questions and their possible answers. I am not quite certain of what I can do to help them, for I can tell that they do not have too much experience, but I can tell them what moves could go together and tactical things.

Aria's Notes: It's Aria's turn to do her part. She will be writing this section in her point of view.

I was astonished to see how large that pavilion was-and that was just a small part of it, for Alexander didn't use all of it for his quarters. There was gold, gold, silver, malachite, and yes, more gold sheathing everything. He acted like this was normal, which of course it was and he told Tracey and I everything we wanted to know about where, why, and how he got each of the items. It seemed like he was used to this too, seeing how many envoys he had received before.

As for his behavior tonight? I wasn't really surprised that he would do this. He obviously knew that we knew that during his conquests, he had been the ruler of thousands and thousands of people. He still knew of the formalities that it entailed to show that the Macedonians weren't so corrupt and barbaric after all. Tracey is still wondering why he did it: maybe because he wanted to explain where he got the stuff, maybe because no matter how informal he is now, the manners and ways of a world ruler were still in him, it was just that he didn't use them... until tonight. He wanted to show us what he could do and what he used to do for only about six or seven years. Though he hadn't ruled for very long, he had enjoyed every moment that wasn't filled with planning, fighting, marching, meeting envoys, or later, dealing with mutinies. I know that when he's given luxuries occasionally, he appreciates it greatly, but he never wants to live a life of ease. I know this much of him, but I also know much, much, more.

CHAPTER THREE NOTES: If you haven't watched the anime Reign the Conqueror, you won't understand why this chapter is here at all. Let me explain. I only know about all of this because of the parody Reign the Conqueror abridged. It's a lot stranger than the actual one, but it follows the same storyline. An important prophecy is pronounced at the beginning of the first episode and though this is in an anime, it will become more than an anime. You might be asking, how does an anime have any connection with Alexander? I have no idea, only the story will tell.

Sorry if this is a spoiler, but the only part of this story that is and ever will be in connection with Reign the Conqueror is the prophecy and that's all. Hope you enjoy. Oh, and the various quotes found in this chapter and from now on are from the parody and are the property of these respective people: Herosha Arimata, Tokyopop, and whoever else helped make the book and the anime own them. Therefore, they also belong to the people who made the parody. No copyright infringement was intended, I used the quotes to support the plot and give some background information.

3: Know Don't Tell (to anyone but one)

At some time in December of last year, Alexander and I were browsing YouTube, looking for more videos to praise. Then, we clicked on one called `Reign the Conqueror Abridged Episode 01.` We weren't sure why it was on the list of results for whatever we typed in, but we ignored this and clicked play. It was probably the funniest thing we had ever watched thus far or probably ever will. We listened intently to the introduction:

`Long ago, there was a prophecy foretold.`

`I will not allow this Olympias!"

`Destined to destroy-` `Why did she have to choose out of so many? So many good, so many bad? She planned to give birth to this of all things? As my burly man legs as my witness, this! ends! now!` `The abridged world.`

`Aah! Burly man legs, why have you forsaken me?`

`Now, my Alexander, rise, and let your abridged series, bring the world to its knees!`

None of us knew what that meant in real life, but someone had already figured out what would happen at the end of the series. `The world ends in this parody. First one so far. And probably the only one so far. And it has to do with me, even if it's in parody form. But we've found out, anything in any video we watch that involves me could be important," foretold Alexander. `We must listen with care.` When I heard of this anecdote, I didn't think that these few sentences, especially the last one, would be as important as any other he had said that day or any moment of the videos Alexander and I watched any way life-changing. But now, I, primarily Tracey, know better.

There is another pair of moments that I still remember and ones that I immediately memorized as soon as Aria told me of them. It was in Episode 05. We didn't think a fifth episode would ever be made, but lo and behold, we were wrong. In this episode, Alexander is talking to Diogenes, Athens's philosopher. Aria told me all of their conversation and I took notes on the whole. However, only two parts will be used for the sake of clarification and understanding of what I am trying to say.

`Alexander, negotiation less your concern is, concern with self, be it. Yes?`

`Yes, I've been feeling rather conflicted, like I don't know who I am or what I want. What is ailing me?`

`Character development. Endure it all protagonists must.

`But I'm Alexander, I don't need character development.`

`Mm, but why also a great king have it?`

`Years ago my mother prophesied that my abridged series would `bring the world to its knees.` First off, what is an abridged series?`

`Is not like merely a chain of events that occur or happen make you, like a series, and a shorter time happening, like abridged it was, argo, abridged series.`

`And is mine going to destroy the world?`

`Depends on you it does.`

`But I do seem to be in a destroy everything or burn everything that lives kind of mood.`

`The same kind of mood that Thebes brought down, interesting.`

`But can I not fulfill this prophecy; what if I don't want to destroy the world? Where would I put my stuff once I conquer it?`

`Nope, God's prophecy absolute. Your second question has one answer. Yet Alexander, does a cloth not consist of many destroyed but uncut strings? Can someone get burned without being inflamed..."

...`Too late to tell on any of them.`

`Things may be destroyed even if not literally cut or burned, you, whose abridged series one of destruction is, may also one of creation be. Remember that, you will.`

At the time, I was confused at why Aria had told me of these passages from the anime parody, but two things make me certain that our theory is true. One is that I have watched all five episodes, plus a sixth new one that has been made recently by myself. I finally know why Alexander loves it so much-there's logic, no logic, blood, violence, cuss words, music, and much more. It's quick and witty in its own bloody, almost historically accurate kind of way. If you know the real history, you know and can tell how closely the events in the anime are linked to the same events that happened in real life. This is the first reason why we think that our theory is true.

The second is that I have been claimed and I have been named a daughter of Apollo, which means I can possibly see the future through my dreams. Oracles in the past have been able to do this, but demigods can as well. We have dreams that post-dict the past, see what our foes and friends are doing, and occasionally for oracles and children of Apollo especially, tell the future. I have experienced this several times. Once, I predicted the comeback of Alexander's squires and how they died of his vengeance. Also, I experienced this when I foresaw, something even more astonishing. At the time, I thought this possibility was so unlikely, that I couldn't have done it. The Fates had told Alexander themselves that he could choose his own path. But I also remembered that they said that as soon as he chose a path, he would end up like everyone else. He would live with a destiny and nothing but a miracle would alter his fate.

I didn't think I had set him on his path. But I did. I foretold Alexander's Reign the Conqueror prophecy coming true. Not in the anime parody, but in real life.

I knew this as soon as I started watching the episodes. He will destroy the world. The question is, when, how, and why?

CHAPTER FOUR NOTES: Now Alexander expresses how he feels about his most recent power upgrades. There's a part where he mentions Reign the Conqueror Abridged and again, it belongs to the original author, the anime makers, and the owner of the parody. Here it is.

4: My Sword, My Shield, My Mind

Control. This is the word that describes me no matter what I feel. Control. No matter how little of it I have, I know that it's there. This assures me that in any situation, I can turn it to my advantage. All of my upgrades in ability have guaranteed control, especially the two most recent ones-Aristotle's spell and Zeus declaring me a god.

Zeus's declaration was heartening; he trusted me with so much power. He told me of my abilities, but the one that still appeals to me is that a tiny part of me will still be mortal. It makes me feel like my friends and my former self. But I wasn't to be. He said that `only a strike from Chronos's scythe or an attack from all the gods could kill you.` But think of how unlikely any of these possibilities are. Chronos will not rise for probably thousands and thousands of years. He is still weak. And the gods, striking me down? Please, that is a dim possibility. They know that I have worshiped them all for years, ever since I first heard of them when I was little. I was devoted to them and whenever something beneficial happened, I thanked them with as much sacrifice as needed, and a lot of the time, much more than was needed. This is not the upgrade, no matter how surprising it may be, that I enjoyed the most. Aristotle's upgrade, my teacher's power upgrade, this upgrade, is the one that I take advantage of the most.

Aristotle's deed was done back in February. The Hellenic League was fighting Team Rocket's soldiers, out in the forests near Veridian City. There were twenty five of us and over one hundred of them. The Team Rocket numbers did not include pokemon, which would double it. With pokemon, we had about sixty. Even with them still outnumbered three to one. I was in the thick of the fighting, even killing about ten of the enemy, but even with my efforts, we were being driven back towards our camp. All our supplies were there and if we could not stop the push, we would be slaughtered.

That is when Aristotle, sword in hand and suffering from a stab wound in his thigh, came up to me. He pulled at my sword arm and at first I whirled on him. I could only see his eyes, his gray eyes through the slits of his helmet, but I knew it was him and I could tell it was important. I signed to him to rearm himself and we left the battlefield.

The Team Rocket soldiers jeered at us and shouted curses, they would send troops after us to kill us. We ignored these taunts. Our side was different. Half of them cried out in dismay. `No Alexander! We need you in the fight! You are our best!` The other half shouted, `Aristotle and Alexander will save us! Upgrade Aristotle! Upgrade! Back in camp!` Aristotle locked eyes with me, and I immediately knew what he would do-I would be powered up, again.

We walked through the many tents in camp until we arrived at one I thought was his own. But it turned out to be a, what? A hospital tent? There was a cot lying in the middle of the floor, with wires and metal bands attached to it. There was a power generator on the floor off to the side. A monitor next to the bed was hooked up to one of the larger bands, close to where someone's head would lie, beeping softly. Aristotle led me to the cot and he told me to lie down. `What for?` I asked, eyeing the bands.

`These bands go around your limbs," he explained. `They will help channel the energy into you. They will also keep you from thrashing during the process.`

`Process?` I repeated. `What kind of process? What will you do to me?`

`Oh,` he said, smiling slightly, `just a little power adjustment. You've been through this kind of thing before, so it shouldn't be painful for you. You need to be asleep in order for it to work, though. Do you have a pokemon that can sleep you?`

`Yes I do," I replied. `Go, Espeon!` I cried, swinging `my arm in an inverted arc, releasing the psychick pokemon. She looked at me, then Aristotle, then the cot. She understood at once.

I lay down, putting my arms and legs through the wrist and ankle bands. Aristotle secured the one around my neck and the two around my chest. `What is the monitor for?` I asked, gesturing at it with my head.

`That's to keep track of your heart beat and other things like that," my past teacher answered. `It also says how much energy I channeled into you and how much we have to go. This will take about twenty minutes. Are you ready?`

`As much as I will ever be with you doing this," I said. `Espeon, Hypnosis,` I commanded. Espeon stared down at me, not believing what she was doing, but she followed my orders. I felt my eyelids closing and I just saw blackness before me. But just because I could not see, did not mean I was completely unaware of what was happening; I heard everything. That is how I can recount it here. I heard Aristotle recite a spell. And a rather interesting and long one, at that.

`Oh Alexander,

spawn of Zeus,

you will have more power

than you could ever imagine.

Only one power will suffice

not movement without touching

not control without persuading

not burning without a torch

no, you will have Greek.

They say words are not actions

in your case they will be

say `crack` a crack forms

say `recover` and it will happen

say `shatter` and it will break

your enemies will no nothing

and you will be all-knowing

do you have a sword that never dulls?

a shield that dazzles its opponents to death?

no, you will have Greek.

In speech or in thoughts

it will devastate

it will save

your own will praise you

their wounds healed by you

they will cry your name in joy

or as a paean.

As for your enemies

they will fear you

your name your sword your shield your mind.

Your name is a curse for them

your voice a living torture

your appearance the equivalent

to winning battle impossibility;

your sword the end to hopes

of victories of flee

of success

of theirs and it will be the best for you.

Your shield,

reflects anything and everything

swords and spears

arrows and darts

javelins and bullets

but only one weapon matters

nay, it is not your sword

your shield? your mind?

no, it is your Greek.

Think any word at all

any event not in English

not in any language that we know

do it in

your language of power

not any modern language

no, it is your Greek.

Do all of this

with your brilliant mind

your conquering mind

your win battles mind

the mind that has never thought of

tactics and ideas

all of war and conquest

all of yours, of only you.

With your golden hair

with indescribable grace

not straight not curly

but waving like water

and energy waves

your eyes of different colors

of dark brown like chocolate

that is sweet but can yet be bitter.

The dark brown eye

hales in comparison

to the blue gray eye

the one all fighting men fear

with the blue

so clear

so shiny like sapphire

reflecting the light

like a living jewel

the gray

so dark so imposing

your gaze sucking away any light

Alexandros Alexander the powerful name

Alexandros is not Latin

no, this is your Greek.

Use this Greek to blast the enemy

with energy with their own

shatter weapons

break battle lines

make men flee

horses bolt

arrows fly the wrong way

swords go at their wielders

your wrath unstoppable even by the gods.

Show it now

show it here

in this battle of importance

for the Hellenic League

even with no sword

even with no shield

even with no talking

absolutely no speaking

you can fight

you will fight

when you use your ultimate weapon.

Use your obliterator's voice

your world conqueror's voice

your Macedonian voice

for this alone

use it now Alexander!

rise now Alexander!

use your power Alexander!

Use your Greek!`

I was still shocked at how damn long that spell was. That was all I was thinking when I felt my body moving. My arms moved from side to side and my shoulders started to roll though it hurt. _Damn, I thought. _Why the _hell am I moving? Aristotle told me not _to. Stop, I commanded my arms. But they did not. They just kept moving. Then, my legs did the same, kicking and writhing like I was having a tantrum. _Shit, I cursed inwardly. How come I have no control over my own limbs? This is weird. Is he moving _me.

Finally, there was the pain, the stinging in my arms, my legs, my chest, everywhere. I kept moving though it hurt. _Won't you on behalf of Persephone's hideous dress she only wears in Hades, stop moving _yourself! I swore more violently, but I did not think Aristotle heard. Then, I just thought with all my might, stop! Now! And somehow, it worked. The pain stopped, completely. I felt, normal, but, but, what was it? Numb? No, I felt normal but for this feeling. Then I figured it out-it was the feeling of this new power. Or at least what it first felt like right after I got it. I remembered that as soon as Aristotle had stopped speaking, I had started thrashing. _Thank the gods there were these bands, I thought. Otherwise I would have broken _bones.

Next, I felt that I could move freely; the bands were gone. Tentatively, I sat up and opened my eyes and looked down at my body. I was not six foot four anymore, I was, what? Six inches taller! `What," I stammered, `what the _hell did you do to me?` Aristotle shuddered at the sound of my voice. Was the part of the spell that said that my voice was torture true? Or was he just astonished at what he did to me?

`I," he stammered back, sweat slowly forming on his face, `I, made you the most powerful fighter. Ever. In history. Past, present, and future. You can now use this ability in battle.`

`Right now?` I questioned innocently, like a child asking if they could use their clay to make a project right after getting it.

`Of course," Aristotle chuckled and helped me off the cot. `Let's go.`

As soon as I stood up, I felt different; my legs felt different. They felt stronger, lighter, light as a feather. I took a step, an effortless step. I did a palm strike with both of my hands experimentally; it felt like I wasn't doing anything. Or call it doing something effortlessly. The two of us walked outside into the light and I could tell that I was definitely taller. We headed out of camp towards the fighting.

First, we saw two groups fighting in close combat. Then, I saw a man face me. He took one look at my face and then screamed, cutting through the din of battle. `No! Not him! Anyone but him! I will not fight him!` There were angry shouts for him to stop being a bastard and to fight. And he did so. He ran at me with gun and sword drawn. I couldn't evade him, so I just did the one thing possible that would test my powers and that would set an example for my side and Team Rocket's. I charged.

I knew that even though I was in superior fighting condition, I was scared to death. _What if the spell didn't _work? I thought fearfully. The man came at me with his sword first by slashing down at my arm. I remembered that my sword was now part of me. I shouted, `Ēlektron!` The sword unsheathed itself from my arm, its double blade glittering evilly in the light filtering down from the trees. I took one look at my weapon, and then I slashed in reply. The Team Rocket member screamed as the sword hit his sword arm; it started to bleed. He stabbed at my shield, but the tip bounced off and broke off.

He then dropped his sword and reached for his gun. It had bullets in it, but I was unsure of how many. He pointed it at me and fired off a five-second burst. I could see the bullets, all five of them. Five in five wasn't bad. I dove down to the ground as they sailed over my head. My sword cut through his greaves like a knife through butter. He screamed again and he fired down at my head. _No! I thought, terrified. _The spell can't possibly protect me _now! Apparently, I was dead wrong. I put up my shield as soon as the burst came-this one was twice as long as the first and I saw the man pull the trigger once more. _He's out of bullets? Already? Why the _hell would you have only fifteen bullets in a gun for such a long _fight? The bullets bounced harmlessly off my shield, the shield of Achilles. They landed on one side of my body. I touched them gingerly with my hand. They were perfectly normal, still their usual shape. _Can I? Yes I _can. I took the bullets in my left fist and I stood up to face my opponent.

I could see the fear in his face. He didn't want to fight me, he did it for the sake of his comrades. I knew I couldn't be merciful. `If I fall to you, Alexander," he gulped when he said my name, `do what you want with my body. I don't care if you bury me with honor or leave me to be gnawed at by the kites and dogs. Just know I will die for the sake of my fellows. I am not a bad person, I swear on the Styx. I was forced into this. I will die with honor. Your newly found powers may be the death to our organization, but they just might help you find a place that excepts you. Do what you must, then.` I didn't want to kill the man: he seemed like one of honor, one who had seen a lot in his life. I didn't want to take that away, but he was doing this of his own free will. So, I did what he asked. With the bullets clenched in my fist, I pointed at him. `Belas toxon! Shoot the bow!` I screamed. The bullets flew out of my hand faster than the man's gun had. They hit him squarely in the chest and the man's face showed pain, but not excruciating pain. Just normal pricked a finger pain. Then, his face relaxed into an expression of calm. With just enough strength to do so, he lay prostrated at my feet. Then, he was still.

I gave him a modest burial, putting his body in a cedar coffin, burying it at the base of a tree. I did not bother to adorn the site with any ornaments, for I wanted to keep it simple for his sake. The man got his wish. I found out his name when I looked at the back of his Team Rocket shirt before I buried him. It said Adrian Rogers. I have to thank you, Adrian. Your sacrifice has helped me realize what I can do.

After the burial, I was unsure and remain unsure of what to do with all this power, all this intense power. However, soon after going back to Pallet, I watched Reign the Conqueror Abridged again to relax my mind. I was watching the part of the first episode where Alexander, Ptolemy, Kleitis, Philotas, and Hephaistion are fighting a talking man-eating horse named Mr. Edipus. After the fight where Alexander beats the crap out of the horse, Kleitis says `Such power. Is this what it means to be charisnicmatic?` I have to answer, `Yes it does Kleitis, yes it does.`

I have also watched the part of the episode with the prophecy. And I know I will fulfill it. I will destroy the world when someone compares me to the anime me three times. For sure. And no one from Team Rocket will be spared.

CHAPTER FIVE NOTES: This is in Leonardo's point of view. He was following behind Jessie, James, Meowth, and Calesthenes and he saw and heard everything they did. Sebrina had put cameras inside the gym and on Team Rocket's stuff to find out what they were saying too.

5: My Alliance, his Alliance

I turned onto the next road, following the white car. I'd been doing this for the past two hours and I could tell that the driver in front of me wasn't very happy. "James, stop thrashing!" Meowth complained as James tried to move to get a better view of outside.

"I want to see where we are," James countered, jabbing a finger at Meowth.

"We'll be in Saffron City soon," Calesthenes reassured, smiling as he watched the two argue in the back seat. _Good thing I am above such things. He thought smugly. Greeks are the rightful rulers of the world, not Macedonians. I should have corrupted Alexander earlier. Oh _well. "Relax Mr. Squirmy," Jessie calmed James as she drove through the gates of Saffron City. "I have our lodging established already. Come on."

They opened their doors, stepped out onto the main street, and turned, heading for the Saffron City gym. I followed and hid behind a row of cars as James knocked on the huge doors. A tall girl with long black hair answered it. "Hello James. I see you have brought your friends with you?" She eyed Jessie, Meowth, and Calesthenes.

"Yes I have," he replied. "Can you just get us to the place that we're staying at please?"

"Sure Jamasin," she said sarcastically. She led the group to the back of the gym and opened a door. There was a long hallway with three doors leading off of it. "This room is mine," she pointed, "the room at the left is Calesthenes's and Jessie's and the one at the right is for James and Meowth. I'll help you unpack."

Jessie flopped down on the bed. "It's so damn hard to drive you guys around," she commented. "But it's worth it. We'll be able to get help from this gym leader. She has a powerful Cadabra; maybe after we're done with getting her on our side, we can take her pokemon just for kicks."

"That's not really, like, what you do when you're trying to make a proper alliance," said Meowth.

"Obviously," Jessie scoffed. "We shouldn't have to pay attention to these rules," she said. "I don't care for hospitality rules. But all I know is is that I'm thankful to Sebrina for giving us a free place to stay. We didn't even have to steal anything."

"I agree," Meowth confirmed. "I want to take a nap. Wake me up when it's time for dinner, will you?" he said, curling up on the floor and Jessie stretched out her length on the bed.

James and Calesthenes were doing much the same thing. "At least Jessie hasn't decided to double cross our host," Calesthenes noticed as he removed his backpack and placed it on the floor. "I actually don't feel like doing anything bad here."

"Really?" James raised an eyebrow. "We're Team Rocket. We're supposed to do bad stuff."

"Well, I'm Greek and I'm used to not harming my host," he defended. "I want to settle in and stay here for a while before we tell Sebrina about our offer."

"Forget staying here for a while," James said suddenly, "we only need to stay here about three days. That's all we'll need. We'll ask her once and give her time to think about it and if she is still unsure of what she'll do, we'll threaten her."

"Good idea," said the Greek historian.

"For once," James agreed, lying down on the bed with a yawn. "Wake me up when Jessie and Meowth scream for food, will you?"

"No problem." Team Rocket and their comrade were asleep and content, but four other people were even more content with what they saw, heard, and what Sebrina had done. And no one but Sebrina would expect what would happen next.

I walked around to the back of the Saffron City gym to a plain red door. I slipped a hand into my pocket and pressed my Vulpix's pokeball to a circular dent in the door. It opened at once. "Come on," I said, gesturing at the hall beyond.

"How does that door work?" asked Annie, cradling her Abra's pokeball in her arms.

"It scans for a Hellenic League member's DNA," I explained. "Any of you guys would have been able to open that door, but I did it to show you how it's done. I love Alexander's lock ideas." I sighed, remembering the blueprints that I had gotten just three days before back in Sorulian City. "Come on," I said again, and Jack, Annie, and Lisa followed me in.

Sebrina was waiting for us and when she saw me, she smiled. "Hey!" she exclaimed, high fiving me. "I was waiting for you! Not for long, though. Team Rocket got here yesterday. I waited a day to see what they would do, as your commander has asked."

"Of course," said Lisa, "you would follow his orders. What is Team Rocket doing in your gym, anyway?"

"They said they needed a place to stay. I think they're planning something and I even heard that they're going to try to make an alliance with me and steal my Cadabra," Sebrina reported. Jack took notes on the conversation as it happened.

"I heard," Annie said, stepping to the front beside me, "that they're going to go to Pallet after this. But they're gonna stay here for a while, maybe a week or more. You can do a lot in a week. They might be planning something, as you said, Sebrina. What if they know about, about-" Annie trailed off, a scared expression on her face.

"What is it?" Sebrina asked gently. "Who does it involve?"

Annie hesitated, then answered, "Alexander and Reign the Conqueror."

"Reign the Conqueror?" Sebrina repeated, confused.

"Reign the Conqueror is an anime that makes an alternate history of Alexander's campaign," Jack explained. "There's a prophecy in it that says that Alexander's going to destroy the world once he conquers it."

"That can't be good," I remarked. "Not again. Not another end of the world thing. Not now!"

"Sadly," sighed Annie, "it's happening again. Basically, the person we thought would most unlikely destroy the world will destroy the world?"

"Pretty much," confirmed Sebrina. "Come on in. There's a room back here that i've prepared for you," "I'll get your bags. I don't think it is advisable to go to the front of the gym or to even leave this part of the gym at all. You might have to stay here for a week."

"That's okay," said Jack.

"We'll be monitoring our intelligence anyway," said Annie. "Let's go."

Sebrina opened another door that went off the hall. Once everyone chose beds and unpacked their things, we sat down and had a long talk about what we had found out. "If Sebrina is going to make this alliance," Lisa predicted, "then we'll have a pretty damn powerful person not on our side."

"She has the sense not to, though," Jack said. "She's been through a lot since she got released from that spell she was in a few years ago. She's in her right mind."

"What do you think she'll do when Team Rocket gives her the offer?" I asked Annie. We all knew that though Annie was only eight, she knew a lot and she was wiser and more mature than her years showed. "Oh, she'll probably either refuse at first mentioning or she'll pretend to think it over while she tells us about the offer. We shouldn't ask anything yet, however. Even we have to follow hospitality rules. First, Sebrina feeds us dinner tonight, and then we ask her about the alliance, if it's already been asked about."

After dinner that night, we were all ready to sleep late and start late the next day. But Jack brought up something important. "Don't we have to send Alexander our daily report?" he asked as we all climbed into bed.

"Oh yeah!" we all exclaimed, Annie racing to my laptop set up on the desk. She logged into her Video Chat account and typed in the contact name `Macedon's commander.` The screen went black for a few seconds, then an image flickered onto the screen. Alexander was sitting at his desk with a pad of paper and a pen, ready to take notes. "So," he began, "what happened today, Annie?"

"Not much," she replied. "We just found out that Team Rocket is staying here, as you expected. They are planning on making a partnership with Sebrina."

"I expected as much," Alexander confirmed, scribbling a note. "And what else has happened?"

"We found out," I reported, "that Team Rocket will be staying here only three days, not a week, not including yesterday. They came here on Thursday, so they'll likely ask Sebrina tomorrow. I don't know why it would be so soon, but they probably want to get to Pallet really quickly. For what, I don't know. Hopefully, it doesn't have to do with, the prophecy."

"You know of the prophecy?" our leader asked in surprise.

"Yes," I said, "we found out about it from Jack. If they know about it, well, that can't be good news."

"You're right. Anything else you will want to add?"

"We'll stay here and we'll leave on the same day that Team Rocket does," I said.

"Good. You guys get some sleep. Tomorrow night, you report back to me. And earlier too."

"Yes sir," we answered and Annie logged out of the Video Chat application.

Jessie, James, Meowth, and Calesthenes finished eating lunch. "For once," James said with relief, "we don't have to work' hard for a meal!"

"What do you guys have to do?" asked Calesthenes.

"Just the usual," said Jessie, "steal it and then argue over who gets the largest share. Barbaric yes, but we didn't get much money, okay? Let's get back to the gym. I think I know what we're going to do."

"Are we going to ask the gym leader to pledge allegiance today?" asked Meowth.

"Oh yes," said Jessie.

"And this time," said James with an evil smile, "she can't refuse."

"Oh Sebrina," Jessie sang as she knocked on Sebrina's room door. "I have something to ask you. Something very important." Sebrina opened the door and frowned at Jessie's happy expression. "What is it?"

"Oh, it has to do with where your loyalties lie," Calesthenes answered slyly.

"What loyalties?" Sebrina repeated.

"We just, well, we've been having some organization problems," said Meowth. "We're lacking members. So, we were thinking that such an intelligent, resourceful, and skillful trainer like yourself would oblige to joining us. You don't even have to do it permanently. Just for a couple weeks. This is a one time offer, though."

"So you better choose now," James pressured Sebrina. "We'll give you ten minutes to think it over. We'll be back later." And with that, James closed the door.

_Perfect. Thought Sebrina with satisfaction. What Leonardo said was true. I'll refuse and then, we'll see how powerful Team Rocket really _is. Sebrina walked to the back of her room and pressed her Cadabra's pokeball to where the lock would be. It opened, revealing another hall. She walked down it and knocked softly on a door. Jack answered. "They gave you the offer?" he asked.

"Yes they did," Sebrina replied. "Lets gear up for a fight. I'm obviously never going to their side. Get ready to use that Squirtel of yours."

"Okay. Come on!" Jack called. "let's go. It's time."

The group waited in Sebrina's room, waiting for the knock on the door. Five minutes were left until it would come, then three, then rat-tat-tat. "Have you made your decision?" James called.

"Oh yes I have," Sebrina said confidently, "say hello to your newest group of antagonists!" she exclaimed, flinging the door open. She revealed the pokeballs in our hand.

"You are not going to get Sebrina so easily!" Jack shouted. "Squirtel, go! Calder Spin!"

"Siviper Poison Tail!" Jessie attacked in response and they began to clash at close quarters. Squirtel's Calder Spin attack made Siviper begin to bleed. "Wrap now!" Siviper started to wrap around Squirtel. Squirtel screamed in pain as it fainted.

"Zigzagoon, go!" called Lisa. "Tri Attack!" The move brought down Siviper at once using its freezing aspect. "Arbock!" Jessie yelled. "Wrap!"

"Abra, go! Amnesia Kinesis, Slash!" The trio of attacks struck down Arbock as well.

"Cacnea, go!" James called. "Pin Missile!"

"Cadabra," said Sebrina, "Psybeam then Psychick!" Cacnea became confused, then its Special Defense statistic was lowered by twenty percent. Now its special moves would be weaker. "Needle Arm!" James commanded. Cacnea swung its spike-filled arm at Cadabra. Unfortunately, Cadabra wasn't fast enough to dodge the blow and it fainted.

Now, it was my turn. "Vulpix I choose you!" I shouted. Vulpix came into the room, ready to fight for its fallen comrades. "Fury Swipes!" Meowth yelled as he ran at Vulpix. "Charm, now," I said calmly. Meowth winced as his attack stat was lowered by almost half. "Scratch!" he replied with the normal type move. Vulpix jumped back to avoid Meowth's claws. He then tackled Vulpix and tore at its arms. They began bleeding, but Vulpix didn't seem to be harmed. "Fire Spin!" Meowth yelped as he got hit directly by the attack; because of it, he couldn't go back into a pokeball.

Then, something strange happened. Meowth suddenly clutched at his leg and fell over, unconscious. "Not again!" Jessie and James yelled. "I thought he would be fine by now! Not even a month's recovery time was enough!"

"Apparently not," said Calesthenes, who had been watching quietly behind the trio of TR members. "Vulpix's attack seems very powerful. I think we get the picture, do you think?" he asked Jessie and James.

"I guess we have," said Jessie. "We'll tell you where we're going to go to make it easy: we're going to Pallet. We have some business to take care of."

"Come on, then," Calesthenes said to them, including the paralyzed Meowth, "I know what to do. Magnitite, Teleport." and they disappeared.

"Do you think they went to Pallet?" asked Jack.

"I don't know," said Sebrina. "But they're not the only ones who can get places fast. Cadabra, go! Teleport!" And the Hellenic League supporters departed as well, not sure of what would happen next, unaware of anything.

CHAPTER SIX NOTES: Finally, everyone is back in Pallet and we'll see what happens when everyone finds out about the prophecy. Will it be fulfilled? Was having this be in my point of view worth it? Will it be the end of the world? You'll have to read on to find out. We mention RTCA again so what we said belongs to its respective owners.

6: Reunite Inform Reality

"Alexander," I heard Olympias call, "someone's at the door. It's Leonardo-" "Say no more," her son replied, running downstairs, excited. _Leonardo's back! He thought, high on enthusiasm. This is probably for something important, either something happened to Misty or, _or. He stopped his happy train of thought. _Oh. It's about, the prophecy. No matter, I have to rise to whatever occasion they _bring. "Hey Tracey," he said to me. "Can you open the door?"

"Sure," Sebrina stood in the doorway with a wide grin on her face. "Thank the gods we're out of that car." she said, "At least we teleported half way here. But we had to drive the rest of the way and I thought I would lose my ability to move my legs!"

"Sebrina!" I shouted and I smiled back. "Why are you here?"

"Well," she summarized what had happened, "I refused Team Rocket's offer, so I'm here. Guys," she said over her shoulder, "we're here." The other four Hellenic League members sprinted up the driveway to meet Sebrina and I. "We're here at last!" yelled Leonardo. "Keep that position," he told me, "want to draw." He immediately began to sketch us. "Wow," I muttered. "That's, Leonardo da Vinci?"

"Yes," Sebrina said, laughing. "Kind of reminds me of an artist who's high, he's that hyper all the time. I'll explain what happened after we unpack."

"And you need to be introduced to, you know," added Lisa.

"I never thought I would see the day," Sebrina said dreamily, "that I would meet, him." She gestured at Alexander's back.

"Don't be shy," Leonardo coaxed. "Think of him like me except not Italian and, a lot more hyper."

"Sure," Sebrina said tentatively and we introduced Sebrina. I guess I had to do the honors. "Sebrina, meet Alexander Amon, the pokemon trainer of pokemon trainers-" "Alexander the Great?" she interjected.

"Yeah. Ask him any question, anything at all about his campaign and he'll answer with no hesitation."

"Okay," Sebrina asked, "when you visited Cyrus's tomb, what was its state?"

"It was basically robbed," Alexander answered. "All the gold was gone and the bones had spilled out of the coffin."

"You were right," Sebrina told me. "He is Alexander the Great. Awesome!" she suddenly yelled. "I love your work! Ever since I've gone back to school, I've been all over the textbooks looking for stuff about you! And now, I get to meet you! Yes! Wait until the girls back home hear this!"

She paused and Alexander took this opportunity to stop her. "Wow," he said in astonishment. "Sebrina, calm down. Why aren't you at school? Did you, like, drop out?"

"No," she answered, barely containing her excitement, "it's just that being gym leader and all, it's hard to go to school because you're always busy. I'm really behind; but, the cool thing is that I'm taking this Aristotelean style class at my high school. Well, a combination of a middle and high school and anyone can sign up. I love it. It's where I can talk about history and not sound like a geek."

"What do you learn about?" Lisa asked curiously.

"Stuff from all subjects, but after we do it the normal way, we compare it to how it was back two thousand years ago in Greece," Sebrina explained. "We do it in Aristotle's style, so we walk around the block and talk as we go. It's fun. And sometimes, the teacher assigns us to take certain roles, like Aristotle's prize students. I've been you several times and strangely, the person who's Hephaistion ironically's my friend. Not hard to act out that, but I heard about how you do rhetoric, and, damn, it's hard to copy. Impossible to copy actually."

"We thought as much," Jack laughed. "Have you seen him talk in a debate? You get kicked out in the first minute. You just can't argue with him, it is useless."

"He says so from experience." Lisa sighed. "We're still wondering why it's impossible to do debates when you're around, but I don't think we'll find out any time soon."

"Wait," Alexander cut Lisa off before she could make a theory, "why are you guys here?"

Lisa's face turned serious. "It's about, the prophecy."

As soon as Lisa said prophecy, the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned ice cold. "You mean," Sebrina said, "the Reign the Conqueror one?"

"Yeah," I said. "We have to get the others to come here. They have to know about this too. And get ready for the insanity to ensue," I warned Sebrina, Jack, Annie, Lisa, and Leonardo.

"We're ready," they said in unison. "It's time."

We all gathered in Alexander's room and we weren't alone-Pikachu, Ash, Pauline, Odysseus, Athena,, Aria, Hephaistion, Azelf, and Darius were there too. We all gathered around in a circle on the floor, waiting for the meeting to begin. "Okay," Alexander began, "have you all watched the anime Reign the Conqueror?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "And did you all watch the first episode?"

"Of course," Pauline said, "obviously or we wouldn't know why this series was made in the first place."

"Does anyone know of the prophecy that is mentioned at the beginning?"

"Yes. `Now my Alexander, rise, and let your abridged series bring the world to its knees.`" Darius recited the lines of Olympias. "Very, dark way to start off a new series, huh?"

"I guess," Annie mused, "but that's not the point. Alexander, why did you bring us here, anyway? I know that you would only summon us if the problem was of great importance."

"I know where this is going," Odysseus predicted with an anxious look, "let me guess-the prophecy is real and it will soon be fulfilled."

Everyone glanced at each other, at Alexander, or at the floor. "I mean," Odysseus continued, "do we know what will happen when it is fulfilled? Anything at all?"

That's when I replied, "I do and so does Aria."

Aria hesitated before she began. "I loved Reign the Conqueror at first watch, but as soon as I heard the prophecy, I started to get anxious. I knew that anything that involves Alexander could be important, no matter how small it might be. So, I watched each episode with care, especially the first one. Then, I began to make connections with the parody and our world. They said something about `Slaves build the Pyramids. Slaves build the Parthenon. Slaves built America.` When I heard that, I knew that the prophecy would come true here. Tracey has something even more important to say, though. Take it away."

I did. "As you may know, I'm a daughter of Apollo. I have been able to foresee the future a couple times. But, while I was asleep for twelve hours straight one weekend back in February, I had a dream. It started with you Alexander, sitting here. You were watching Reign the Conqueror and you turned it off and said, `Good thing they made this prophecy since I will fulfill it. The world's destruction does not depend upon me, but on my fellows for when they compare the real me to the anime me three times, well. It will begin. The renewal will begin.`

It flashed forward to a scene with us sitting here in the exact same group and in the exact same orientation that we're in now. Then," I gulped, scared of what to say next, but I knew I had to go on, "I saw someone speak, I wasn't sure who but after they said it, Alexander began talking again. This time he said, `You can save yourselves now, join me and help me fulfill this prophecy. Or, you can continue your crusade. I can just kill you now so you won't have to face what will happen next.` Afterwards, this room exploded and Azelf teleported us out of it.

We ended up in City Hall, met Aria's dad, and told him about the prophecy. We hid in one of the rooms, but we were found and this time, we teleported somewhere else. The scene changed showing brief images, where Pikachu is speaking to a huge crowd of men, where we're standing in front of a temple, where we're standing near a small river, and where we were fighting on a plain. The next solid scene was where we were in a big city, I don't know where. I was speaking to a crowd this time. And then, it showed groups of people following us across another river and us encamped on another plain. This group was in an underground cavern with the roof blown off to show the sky and we were all lying against the wall. And finally," I finished, "it showed us standing in phalanx formation with our swords drawn and pointing forward."

Everybody glanced at the floor all at once, probably with the same thought. "So," Athena said slowly, "when we compare these two people three times, what will happen?"

"I don't know," I said, sighing. "Foreseeing the future is tricky stuff. Maybe it won't happen like this or not at all. But, in case, we don't compare the anime Alexander with the real one."

"Okay," Pauline agreed. "But how deeply do we have to compare them? I mean if this was the anime, one of us, probably Leonardo, would be like Philotas, being beaten up all the time. That's Carn's role in real life, not Philotas's. Plus, did you notice that they use no apostrophes at all in that anime, Alexander especially? It's really annoying and the real Alexander overuses them." We all saw Pauline wince as she realized what she did. "No!" she yelled in dismay. "Why? I didn't mean it! Why Fates why!"

"I don't know," Pikachu said panicked, "but don't worry. As long as we don't talk about the anime, we'll be fine."

"Yeah," we all agreed, muttering words of consent.

"Just wondering," Hephaistion asked, who hadn't spoken until then, "how come they say `Russian Submersible Alexander` in the first three episodes? They didn't have them! It's like parts of our technology were there in ancient Macedonia! And the part with Diogenes? Completely unlike the Alexander we all know, except for the part where it's like `quick Philotas what are those non-family people you have affection for?` Awkward and another thing. Dude, get a life. We all have one!"

We all laughed when we heard the quote. "It's true!" Azelf realized, "he doesn't have a life. Yet, anyway."

"Even I could understand the joke," Pauline cracked up before she continued, "he does have friends, he just doesn't consider them friends. I also heard that he covered Philotas's mouth. Funny!" We all snickered again, but then we stopped. "What did I," Pauline said quietly, then shouted, "What's going on! It's happening! Tracey, you didn't say who had said the three mentions, but I know now! First it was me, then it was Hephaistion and I just added comments onto the second one! No!"

"No!" Hephaistion yelled too. "The end of the world will happen almost as soon as we compare again! Don't everyone! Don't be like us!" they shouted together.

"We'll try," Darius whimpered. "This is insane. We've already gotten two thirds of the way towards starting the prophecy. Shit," he whimpered again.

"Why does this have to happen?" Odysseus asked.

"Only the gods know," Lisa sighed, "and Athena, even you probably don't know the reason."

"You're right," Athena said and she sighed too as she found out this fact. "No one knows his fate, not even the Fates. They don't control his destiny. Only he does. And you know what else?" she said, perking up, "the anime Alexander doesn't appreciate the gods like how the real one does. Has the anime one sacrificed to Zeus? Heracles? To me? No! Even when they built statues of us, it's just to show that Philip was a god. Upstart," she muttered. "Sure Alexander's a god now, but he doesn't go around showing it off. He still worships us like he's still a demigod, even still a mortal." She paused to continue, but she just stared in horror with her mouth open. When she shut it, a revelation coursed through the room. We all felt it and we had all been dreading it.

"I," Leonardo stammered. "It," stuttered Jack and Annie. "can't be," Azelf stumbled.

"It is!" Pauline said with alarm.

"It's done!" everyone yelled together. "No! It's fulfilled! This is the end of us all!"

We waited for the room to burst into flames like what I had said, but nothing happened. It was like the prophecy would happen in an unspectacular way. Then, we heard a rustle of clothes as someone stood up and walked towards the window. We all turned to see. It was Alexander.

He turned to face us and he smiled in a creepy `I will comply with the prophecy` kind of way. "You know," he said in his Macedonian accent, "I could take you down now so you won't have to see what will happen next, but I will give you a choice. You can join me and help fulfill this prophecy, you can become my prisoners, or, you know what will happen if you fight. Ēlektron!" he cried and his sword appeared, surrounded in lightning. "What will you choose?"

_I should decide. Pauline thought. I was the one who started all this, I should choose even if we get killed from _it. I saw Pauline put up her thumb, her forefinger, and her middle finger, three fingers, the third choice. "We'll fight for it!" she yelled, standing. We agreed with yells of approval or various war paeans.

Alexander chuckled in his accent, and it seemed that even Pauline could see his expectant smile. "If you wish," he said, gathering more energy around his sword and charging at us. _Here it is. I brooded. Part of the prophecy will be _fulfilled. "Run!" Pauline yelled as she unsheathed her cane and swiped at the sword in front of her. She grabbed my arm and we sprinted for our lives. The conqueror, our enemy, Alexander, slashed at us violently and we reached the door just in time. We couldn't get much farther, however. The door wasn't there; it was in flames. We turned to the window, but Alexander was guarding it. So, we drew our swords and charged at our captor with vigor. `Fight for our lives` is the line from Knights of Cydonia by Muse, and it was now true.

CHAPTER SEVEN NOTES: The rest of this book will keep switching from my opinion, Alexander's opinion, and Pikachu's opinion. Chapters unless noted will first be in my point of view, then Alexander's. In this case, first it will be my point of view, then Pikachu's, then mine. There will be much more swearing, violence, and death and blood in the rest of this book, so I'm sorry and we're all sorry if it disturbs you. That's why there's a warning in this story's initial notes. And that's why all swear words are underlined so you can skip over them. And, now, here's our struggle for survival.

7: Command, the First City, and the Crossing

"This is madness!" Pauline shouted. "This! Is! Sparta! Stupid 300 movie that I love so much!"

"Uh we have other problems," I said nervously. "Look, if the door is in flames, we can't go through without teleporting and Azelf is, no!" I yelled and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Azelf had two daggers in her hand and she was fighting Alexander head on, dodging his blows and even landing some of her own. "This is for even watching Reign the Conqueror in the first place! This is for taking Aristotle's upgrade offer! And this is for, just because!" she screamed, aiming some powerful slashes at Alexander's arm.

He parried them all with ease. "I didn't think this would happen," Azelf's trainer said with a sigh, "but unfortunately, it was not to be." He slashed his sword down at lightning speed and put a gash in Azelf's head. She fainted, but she was just strong enough to use her teleporting ability, barely avoiding Alexander's sword as it swung down again. We heard an angry scream as we disappeared. I swear I heard these words as we vanished: "You will be like Darius! I will find you! I will obliterate you and the existence of any force you may have! You will not escape me!" We reappeared in the lobby of City Hall. Then, Azelf collapsed.

Hephaistion exhaled with relief. "Okay," he panted, "that was a rush. But if this is what today will be like, I can't imagine what the next few weeks will be like."

"I don't even think we have a week to live," Odysseus remarked grimly.

"Prophecies like this usually take a week to come true," Darius said, "so we have a week to stop Alexander. And if we don't?" he mimicked a sword slashing at the air around them. "Your dad's the mayor right?" he asked Aria.

"Sure, but I don't know what he'll think."

"Just tell him everything and fast," Ash ordered, "or we'll get found again."

"Oh you don't go alone," Athena said, gesturing at all of us, "We have to come too."

"Yeah!" we assented, and we followed Aria down the hall. Aria knocked on a door and waited, tense. A tall man with a lot of gray hair and kind brown eyes answered it. "Aria, what?" he started, but then saw her face and the fainted Azelf. "Let me guess? Bad?"

"Really bad," she replied. "Dad, this is an emergency. It has to do with-" she didn't say the name for fear of it being cursed or something.

"Who, Rae?" Aria's dad asked.

"Also. Alex. Alexander," she said, glancing around them. Then, taking a deep breath, she explained to her father about the prophecy. We all added in details when needed.

He stared at us in disbelief. "Aria, this can't be true," he said. "I mean, Alexander's not that crazy. He's in his right mind. Or at least I think he is."

"Dad, you don't know him. I do, Hephaistion and Azelf do. But, even Zeus doesn't know what he's capable of. He's so unpredictable. One moment he's loyal to you and another moment, he has an army after you. What should we do?"

"I don't know much about this anime," Mr. Alphis said, "but all I know is, if that show is causing you bad luck, don't watch it and if you must watch it, do it only when it's absolutely necessary. But, I have to send two of my officials with you so I know what you're doing."

"Sure," Aria agreed.

"They're in my office. I'll introduce you." He opened his office door and we followed in.

A man and a woman were standing in front of a large desk. Both of them had dark skin like Darius. The man had black spiky hair and green eyes and the woman had auburn hair and blue eyes. They smiled at us. "I'm Aaron," the man said, "and I'm Alana," said the woman.

"Alana," the mayor said grimly, "this is serious. It has to do with, what?"

"The prophecy," I said.

Aaron and Alana looked at each other. "It can't be," Aaron faltered.

"The prophecy." Alana was unsettled by the news, "It can't be the Reign the Conqueror one, can it?"

"Apparently it is," I replied, smiling soberly. "Alana, Aaron, what exactly do you do?"

"We're both military experts," Aaron said. "We specifically know about Alexander's tactics. We'll be of a big help. Now, let's get down to business," he commenced, "where will we-was But before he could finish his sentence, the lights went out and the building began to shake. "Earthquake!" he yelled and we all dove under the desk. We could hear pieces of the ceiling fall on top of it.

I felt Pauline's hands explore the floor, looking for something to hold on to. She touched my right arm. I could hear her other hand find someone else's arm too. "Tracey, Ash, thanks for not recoiling."

"Um, I can't feel you," Ash said. "I'm in front of you, not beside you." "But if I'm not touching you," the visually impaired pokemon trainer said, "then who is it?" She squeezed my arm and whispered, "Tracey, this guy's arm has something long and metal close to it. I think it's attached to it and ouch! Its edge is sharp! And it's, moving?"

"I think what you're feeling is is, a," I trailed off, then my spine began to tingle and my heart leapt with fear. "That's not anyone we know, is it?" I said apprehensively.

"Oh yes it is," answered a smooth accent that emphasized the consonants and lengthened its vowels, just like, l1... "No!" Pauline screamed. "It can't be you! Get off!" Pauline crouched down and struck at Alexander's arm. He whacked her in the elbow with his arm-sword in response. "_Shit," she cursed. "Get out! He's here!" she yelled again.

She pulled at Ash's legs and we all crawled out from under the table as fast as we could to find three things were different. One was that the ceiling was collapsed, another was that someone was lying on the floor with a piece of ceiling on top of them that made a gash in their chest, and a third was that Alexander was getting up off the floor with a trickle of Pauline's blood on his sword. "Just wanted to warn your new recruits of what I can do," the conqueror warned, glancing at Aaron. "But too bad that Alana wasn't so lucky." We all looked at the body under the ceiling section. It was Alana. Though she was weak, she was able to slide out from under the ceiling and she handed Pauline her belt; it had a dagger and two pokeballs on it. "I feel that you have a lot of training potential," she whispered. "Take them. You'll need it since you're an obvious target. All of you should know that even though I didn't help that much, I still think that I assisted you in your quest. Now, Hades, take me." She closed her eyes and she never spoke again.

Darius removed a tapestry from the wall with a picture of the battle of Carannea on it and wrapped it around Alana. We all blessed her with our highest honors, and Aria used Flarion's Fire Spin attack to burn the shroud. _So this is what war is like. Ash thought, brooding over the body. How can someone get used to it? But if this is what the next week will be like, might as well get used to this happening a lot _more. Alexander was gone, but his poketch lay on the ground as if he didn't think it was important enough for him to wear it anymore. Annie picked it up and placed it on her wrist. She gazed down at it in wonder; its gold rim, its blue-gray alpha, its slick design. "Should I?" she asked Jack.

"Sure," he said encouragingly. "You picked it up, I guess you get to keep it. But we can divide the pokemon among ourselves. We'll give them back when this war ends, if we live."

Annie nodded her approval and she swung her arm in an upside down arc like she had seen Alexander do. "Come on out, everyone!" she called. Tertwig, Milotic, Exeggcute, Espeon, Pachirisu, Andalexrae, and the newest pokemon, Bronzor, emerged. "I'll take Tertwig as my own for now."

"I call Milotic!" Jack said. "Espeon's mine," Lisa took Espeon and transferred her into a pokeball. "Exeggcute!" Pikachu cried and he stored the pokemon in a pokeball of his own. "Pachirisu, you can come with me," Hephaistion said gently, picking up the electric type. "Bronzor, return," said Aaron.

"And Andalexrae," Azelf said, "you can partner up with me. I already have a pokemon of my own. Mime Jr. advance! You can stay pokeballless like Pikachu. Let's get out of here."

"But wait," Ash cut in, "who's going to lead us? Well, Alexander, he used to do that. Now that he's on his own, who will lead us now?"

"We can," a male voice answered from a corner. We all spun around to find A26 and everyone else standing behind us, sarissas still in their hands. "Let me guess," he said, "prophecy?"

"Right," Pikachu remarked. "How did you get here?"

"Unimportant," he replied. "Pikachu, you can lead us and I can be your second in command." The sixteen-inch tall pokemon stared up at the inspirer of the battle of Gaugamela in awe and shock. "Me?"

"You are a son of Zeus, so you can help us by being able to match Alexander's abilities to some extent. Come on. I know where we could go first." The Gaugamelan Alexander gestured at the broken ceiling and we felt ourselves being teleported again. We materialized in a place that we had never seen before. There was a big stone building with many floors in front of us. We were standing in a rose garden outside one of its rooms. But I saw no electrical cables, no power lines, no sign of modern technology anywhere. "Where? Are? We?" Jack wondered as he looked at the building in front of them.

"It's the royal palace at Pella," A7 answered with a smirk. "Where did you think we were? Babylon?"

"No," Jack said in a small voice, "it's just that, we're in a modern world where there is electricity and computers and, cars. There isn't any of that here."

"Well," Hephaistion explained, "Macedon isn't exactly the most developed country, I mean, republic, in the world, so buildings like this still exist. And I'm surprised that this palace is still standing since it was built like back in 400 BC-was "Potion," someone moaned. I couldn't believe it; we had forgotten about Azelf! Her wound had stopped bleeding and she was pallid from loss of blood. "Oh Zeus _damn it!" Pauline swore. "We forgot about Azelf! Your gash! We have to get inside!" Pauline found the door and she pushed it open. She gasped as the door swung open. "The smell, the sound," she whispered.

"What is it?" A19 queried.

"It's just, it smells like old stone, but also like new stone. It sounds like, servants and horses neighing and, drilling men?" she stopped her list of sensations. "Why are there drilling men here anyway?"

"Don't know," Aria mused, taking Azelf in her arms. "But let's get inside before this gash gets worse."

Pauline was right-the first sensation that hit me was the scent, the scent of two-thousand-year-old stone. Then, as we stepped in, I heard a full clatter like hammers hitting the marble floor. That was our feet, putting our own mark on this historical site. A26 opened a door and we stepped into a somewhat familiar room. There was a bed about five feet long like Ash's but it was a lot lower. The marble floor was yellow like old parchment, but still shiny and showing signs that it had been walked upon recently. Another bed lay close by, one made for an adult. Who slept here? "Does it seem familiar?" A8 posed to us.

"Where are we?" Pauline asked Ash.

"We're in, um, someone's bedroom. We're standing on a yellow marble floor and the bed is just like mine. The view, well, we're looking down on a drilling field, I think."

"This description seems familiar," Pauline commented. "It's just like Alexander's room in Fire from Heaven."

"That's because it is my room, exactly like how it is from Fire from Heaven," A7 confirmed. "I can't believe we're actually back home!" he said happily. "We got our wish. And plus, you guys get to see it! Let's give you a tour!"

"As much as we want to check out this place," Pikachu said, "We can't. We can't waste time. And we need to get to a place where Azelf can get her wound taken care of. Is there a hospital anywhere?"

"Well," Ash said, opening the door, "I think I know where we can go: Olympias's room."

We followed Ash around the corner past an Apollo statue on a green plinth, just like Fire from Heaven. We walked until we arrived in a small indoor courtyard. We headed up the stairs and straight up to the door, with its fancy door latch. Aria reached up and unlatched the door and we stepped inside.

It was just like how Mary Renault had described it. The royal bed, the fireplace... "The loose stone by the hearth!" A7 realized. "How about we look under there?" He lifted the stone from its niche and found a group of small phials. He looked through them until he found the potion he needed. He opened it and poured the contents of it onto the wound. The gash slowly started to heal and at last, it closed. Aria took a second vial and tipped its dark liquid into Azelf's mouth. Her face turned from surprise to relief; the second phial was filled with an energizing potion. "Thanks," she said, bowing slightly.

"I'm not worthy of the bowing part, but I'm thankful. Let's get outside. I want to find someone."

We found ourselves on a big square field with the tracks of many men and horses in the ground. Sheds and stables bordered the field. And in the middle, there was a group of about two hundred men with helmets on their heads, shields overlapped, and sarissas in their hands. I saw who was leading them and I gasped. "Ach, Achi, Achilles?" I said, not sure what else I could say.

"Yes!" A13 screamed, running to meet the fellow Greek. "I didn't think this would happen! I finally hmhmhm!" He got cut off as Azelf covered his mouth. "Look," she said firmly, "as excited as you might be to meet Achilles no, don't shout again, we need to get him into this too. We need a, an, army."

"We have a commander," I said, glancing at Pikachu, "but we need Macedonian approval in order for him to take his position."

"That'll be easy!" Achilles assured and he removed a walkie-talkie from his belt and pressed the TALK button. "Everyone form up and march here!" he commanded. "We have a special and important thing to tell all of you. And please Ptolemy, make sure you get this to Perminion, Perdiccas, and Crateros, will you? They'll be here momentarily," he told us, releasing his hold on the walkie-talkie and replacing it on his belt. "Pikachu, you will have to speak to the men."

Pikachu's face became terrified. "How many are there?"

"Oh about forty four thousand thousand. Including all you guys in the Hellenic League and all of yours and the men's pokemon, about forty seven thousand."

"How the _hell will I be able to make a speech momentarily with no prompting at all?" Pikachu screamed. "I need someone who can show me in minutes how a good speech should go and how, specifically, to give a speech to an army!" He continued like this, screaming and not knowing his problems' solution was standing next to him.

"Pikachu!" A26 raised a hand, "stop! I know who can help you! I will help you! Just calm down!"

"Yeah," Aaron encouraged, picking up Pikachu,, "do what he says! Do you want to have a good following?"

Pikachu stopped screaming and gazed at the military expert and the brilliant tactician in surprise, then understanding. "How will you help me?" he asked.

"Just remember what I said before the battle of Gaugamela," A26 said, putting Pikachu down. "And I said that just in time too," he remarked, pointing. Columns of men marched towards us, armed and looking for their commander.

"How will the men be able to see me?" the electric type questioned. "I'm too _damn short."

"How about?" Pauline mused, "Wait! Four words guys: stand on a sarissa!"

Achilles gave Aaron four of the eighteen-foot-tall poles and he attached them to some planks he had found, making a small and high dais. Aaron put on some eight foot spears between two of the sarissas at six inch intervals, making a ladder. I climbed up the rungs and I stood on the dais. The men grew quiet at once as soon as they saw me. I stared back, waiting for the right moment. Then, on that Tuesday afternoon in Pella, I began.

"Fellow Macedonians! Allies! Pokemon! We are all gathered here not to conquer the Persians; nay, on the contrary, I have a Persian ally, Darius Ackisan, here with me today." The crowd began muttering. "I know this may sound strange, for one of our enemies to be on our side, but Darius has changed. He is now one of us. He is also fighting for our three causes: stopping, saving, and survival.

On stopping: we are facing an enemy that has traversed this country before, maybe even this very field before. An enemy that has won battles for all of us and has won the hearts, minds, and loyalty of almost all of us entirely if not in part. He has invented the tactics that are being used in Iraq and Iran right now to defend the United States, where he was resurrected. However, because of the prophecy from the anime Reign the Conqueror, he is also using these same tactics to destroy the world. When you are in this army, each of you individually as well as all of us collectively will use our skills to stop his advance, for his final battle will be inevitable."

I paused to allow the men and pokemon to take this all in; they knew if you were talking about Alexander, even without the mentioning of his name. Probably almost all of them had served under him the first time. Even if they hadn't served him, they knew his tactics well. And by the expressions on the majority of their faces, I could tell that they were possibly aware of the prophecy too. _I'll save all the deep stuff about the prophecy for last. I thought. Let's _continue.

"On saving: we are doing this for the whole of the world, even the parts where there are no people. Everyone is counting upon our efforts to keep the world in tact, especially the big major cities like Washington D.C., Beijing, Tokyo, and many more. If anything at all happens to those cities, not just the country that they are located in will be affected, but the world will be affected too. Six and a half billion people and many many pokemon are relying on us to keep this prophecy from taking innocent lives." _It's going well. I thought optimistically. I'm almost to the scary part, though. But I know what I must _do.

"And at last, on survival. As I have said, the enemy we face already knows the lands we are going to travel on. Though he may have the same amount of men and same weapons as us, he possesses abilities that a mortal can only dream of having. He can use ancient Greek as a spell-making language to work magic on us. He can run for hundreds of miles with no need for rest as fast as if not faster than a jet. He has a sword that is hidden in his arm and when he uses a certain Greek word, it springs from its biological sheath, so from wrist onward, it is nothing but six feet of solid bronze mixed with iron. This sword can cut through anything and its blows move quicker than most eyes can see and it can also shoot lightning like an ancient gun.

And this is just what he can do normally when not in battle; he can foresee any tactic that you will use, his mind's capacity is that enormous. When angered, he can use a pokemon move that drains one's stats down to one and it takes weeks to recover from its affects. He can break weapons with his bare hands and guns explode when he is around. If he wishes, he can make batteries and anything electronic lose their power within fifty miles of him, so communication via email will be impossible. His lightning ability can also be done long range, so at any time while we are marching, he can make lightning bolts reign down from the sky. He can cause earthquakes and if he were to set fire to our camp, we would not be able to extinguish it.

"His persuasion is the worst-just hearing his voice makes it hard for you to stay loyal to your cause. But it's his face that is probably the most intimidating. His eyes are different colors, as you know. I am unafraid of his dark brown eye, but his blue gray eye? This eye is the eye that he uses to burn holes in enemy fortifications. According to pokemon trainer legend, this is how he managed to bring down Tyre'-he melted the walls. If he looked at you, you would want to run for your life at once." I watched the men and I saw only three reactions: shock at who we were fighting from the younger soldiers, awe from our various allies, and pure terror on the faces of the veterans. They couldn't believe that their inspiring, powerful, persuasive leader had turned into, into, what his daimon was. Powerful, persuasive, undeniable. But I saw this look on everyone's faces for they all knew that though some of the army was made up of demigods, they were no match for him.

This was where I turned the tides. "Though our foe may have abilities that we do not," I said, "he does not have this special group of people that you may have heard of. This group is the most highly trained force of fighters I know. They are copies of Alexander, yes, but they are anything but like him. They are the Diadochi!" I gestured at the group of about twenty five alike figures behind me and they all came to be in front of me and below me, facing the crowd. The men cheered and clapped their approval. "They have all trained long and hard, not knowing that they would need their skills for this mission. But they will not lead you!" I shouted. "I will! I, Pikachu Ketchum, son of Zeus and of Theban and Macedonian Descent! The Pikachu that made my egg belonged to Epeminondas and the Ditto was Archelaos's. So, I have the royal blood of Macedon as well as that of Thebes's finest general in me! So now, my fellow Macedonians and now fellow Hellenic League members, will you follow me or not!" I said this, knowing they would immediately want to follow if they heard me say something so compelling and simple. I hoped there would be immediate applause; but there was just silence. Pure silence like an empty room, like a city at night.

Then, something broke the silence. A shout of "Long live Minondass!" and the cheers started up. "Long live Minondass! Long live Minondass! Lead us!" and I answered "Yes! That is why I stand here today! To declare myself the new Captain-general of the Hellenic League! And now, remember, `No one's gonna take me alive! It's time that someone made things right! You and I must fight for our lives! You and I must fight to survive!`" The men began to sing the lyrics of Knights of Cydonia by Muse. "Today, we cross into Asia!" I yelled as I climbed down to the ground.

"That was amazing!" Odysseus praised, wiping tears from his eyes. "I didn't know that you had that kind of oration talent in you!"

"Well," I blushed, "I just took his advice." I gestured at A26, "he told me what to do and I did it."

"That is how you follow orders," Odysseus said, "but now, you will be giving the orders. You have to give out the positions of who will be your commanders, first."

"How about I write it out for you?" I said, and I shouted to the men, "your commanders' positions will be appointed later today. Now, someone please get me a tablet and a stylos!

TUESDAY MAY 11 2010 COMMAND POSITIONS

This is my first day being commander of this army. And one of my first duties is to appoint my generals. So, here they are. Total forces: 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry

Hephaistion Furissa: 1300 Companion Cavalry, Ash Ketchem: 1300 Companion Cavalry, Athena Brazion: 1000 light Macedonian cavalry, Azelf: 1000 light Macedonian cavalry, Tertwig: 1000 light allied Greek cavalry, Milotic: 1000 light allied Greek cavalry, Exeggcute: 200 special cavalry, Espeon: 200 special cavalry. total cavalry: 2600+1000+1000+1000+1000+200+200 = 7000

Odysseus Ilium: 500 Agriane javelineers, Telemachus Ilium: 500 Agriane javelineers, Evee Ketchem: 1000 trainer archers, Bidoof Ketchem: 1000 trainer archers, Jack: 1000 pokemon archers, Annie: 1000 pokemon archers, Misty Decodan and Dawn Ketchem: 1500 Thracian darters, May Sayallis: 500 pokeball slingers. Total projectile infantry: 1000+2000+2000+1500+500 = 7000

Ptolemy Laeggis: 3000 phalanx infantry, Perdiccas Testit: 3000 phalanx infantry, Crateros: 3000 phalanx infantry, Kanis: 3000 phalanx infantry, Darius Ackisan: 3000 hoplite infantry, Tracey Esteron: 3000 hoplite infantry, Achilles Allin: 3000 hoplite infantry, Aria Alphis: 3000 allied Greek infantry, Triana Melson: 3000 allied Greek infantry, Leonardo da Vinci: 3000 pokemon phalanx infantry, Lisa: 3000 pokemon phalanx infantry, Perminion Seeit: All of the left wing, Chingling Ketchem: 50 scouts, Gaugamelan Alexander: 26 Diadochi. Total infantry: 7000+33000+50+26 = 40086. 7000 plus 40086 equals 47086 total

I watched Pikachu board our trireme, excited. "I can't believe we're actually doing this," I said with awe as I followed our commander to the bow of the ship.

"I can't believe it either," he replied, gesturing at the captain. "We won't need our fleet for much, just for getting to Asia. When you're done manning these ships, you'll be in Perdiccas's battalion."

"Yes sir!" he answered. "When will you give the signal?"

"Move out!" Pikachu responded, yelling into the microphone. I watched the generals slowly pass on this order to the other ships. The ships sluggishly began to move. We left the dock near Alexanddropalis and we moved around mainland Greece into the _Hellespont, the waterway between Europe and Asia. _Here we go, Pikachu thought excitedly. We're going to the Persian Empire all over again! We're not conquering it, however. We're going to protect it; and I'll be the commander this _time.

Our oarsman and pokemon were working their hardest, so we got to the shore near sunset. In Alexanderian style, Pikachu threw a spear into the dirt before we arrived on shore. He leapt off the ship onto land even before the ship stopped moving. He placed a pokeball on a bronze tripod where the spear had landed and signed his name. "Here we are!" he yelled. "We're in Asia! Just like Alexander had done! Victory will be ours!" The men cheered and disembarked.

The Gaugamelan Alexander, who was his second in command, came up beside us and clapped us on the shoulders. "Now that is what I'm talking about!" he commended. "We crossed into Asia without anything going wrong! Now that's just like what A20 did right there! What you going to do now: set up camp, give a pep talk?"

"I'm going down to where Troy is," Pikachu said.

A26 was first confused, then understanding. "You want to, you know?"

"I do," he replied. "Tracey, Pauline, Ash, and Hephaistion will come too. We'll do it tonight. You'll be in my position while I'm gone. We're out!"

The five of us took up our hiking sticks and we headed down the coast. The sun was setting overhead. I didn't think the town would still exist, but by Agamemnon, it was there. "Look Sire!" I pointed to the town about two miles in front of us. "It's still here!"

"Let's do this quickly then!" Pikachu ordered and we helped to carry him the two miles to Troy. It was just a group of houses around a small central square. In the middle of the square, there was... "A temple!" Hephaistion noticed. "Just like Tracey's vision! Let's go in!" We filed into the temple and we gasped when we saw what the deity was; it was Athena! "Welcome," a male youth said to us, bowing. He had short brown hair and skin of the same shade. His eyes were a pale hazel. "What have you come here for?"

"I am going to stop a prophecy that could destroy the world," Pikachu said confidently. "Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated and will be rewarded."

"I cannot take any gifts," said the youth, "but I can give you something. My assistant will show you." He signed to a girl about fifteen years old who was behind the statue of Athena. She looked like the boy, but for her hair, which was dark red. She had a set of armor in her arms-a helmet with a silver spike curving to the front, a cuirass with a pokeball logo on the front and back, greaves that fit his legs, and, no sword or shield? "Where is the sword and shield?" Pikachu asked.

"Right here!" The girl brought the other two pieces of armor out from behind her back with a flourish. The sword was a four foot long double edged blade. There was a hand and a half hilt so Pikachu could strike blows with both hands on the sword as well as one.

But the shield was what Pikachu liked; it was about two and a half feet in diameter and it was just a bronze circle painted black with a yellow Pi in the center. He slipped his arms through the two shoulder straps, one per arm and he fastened it around his neck too. He took the sword and started to swing it; it was balanced perfectly in his hand. "Thank you!" he was gratified that these two servants to Athena had given him the armor that he would need. "For your service, you will be rewarded sets of armor of your own, I'll have my blacksmiths make two."

"We appreciate the offer," said the girl, "and we would love to come. I'm Netosha III and this is my brother, Crick III. Netosha and Crick are what our friends used to call us, at least before they learned our Greek names."

"What are they?" I asked.

"Mine's Netosanes," explained Netosha, "and mine's Cricktus."

"Why do you still use those kinds of roman numeral things anyway?" Pauline asked curiously.

"It's because we're not exactly that modern, so it's still used here. We can go with you back to your camp. And who," Netosha asked, "are we honored to be serving under?"

"I," Pikachu said boldly, "I am the commander of this army and if you may call me this, Alexander's vanquisher!"

Netosha and Crick grinned and bowed. "We are honored," they declared.

"Let's go!" Ash said. We led Netosha and Crick out of the temple and we headed back to camp to rest for the night. Day one had gone as, if not better, than we had planned. But what would happen tomorrow? None of us knew and none of us expected that battles were just around the corner.

Leonardo da Vinci, notebook 101 page 3 (decoded)

At the beginning of every log, I will say the same thing. I will keep saying that this could be my last log. I can never tell what will happen one minute from now, let alone a day from now. So, I'm going to try to make a narrative of what I am doing each day in case I die and they need to find a record of this weeks' events.

I'm very excited that I have a significant command in this army. I command a battalion of pokemon phalanx infantry in the center. I get to be part of the main infantry body, the sarissa phalanx. I've already figured out how to teach pokemon to use sarissas: you tell them just to touch the thick end that they hold on to and that they only touch the thin end with the blade when I'm around. It works.

CHAPTER EIGHT NOTES: Alexander's first, I'm second, and Pikachu's third. We found out about what Alexander was doing and saying by using some of Chingling's scouts like Leonardo. He got information out of Peerclis, one of Alexander's new and uncorrupted squires.

8: A Fight Riverside

My new squire, Peerclis, entered my tent and gave his daily report. "Sire, your suspicions were correct. The Hellenic League is encamped near Troy and they are marching towards our camp site as we speak. You have made it easy for them to find us. Now, we can wait."

"That is fine Peerclis," I replied smoothly, "you may go. I need to charge." The squire exited with a nervous look. He knew what I meant. Even I get tired, and instead of resting in bed every night, I lay in a bath of hot water with my clothes on. I do this every night when I am supposed to be sleep. Being in the water is not even the strangest part: in addition to this, I put my arms and legs into iron bands and electrical currents flow into them and thus, into me. This current recharges my energy supply while I am sleeping, when I use the least amount of energy. This way, I will be prepared for battle any day, any time. Even if someone tried to assassinate me in my sleep, I would be prepared for a fight and they would be dead before you could say parry the blow!

You may be asking what I use this energy for: one is for normal tasks. But, I use it for battle too. I use it to fight with my sword, run supersonic, and, to use my most lethal weapon: to make my lightning. This lightning is as powerful as it it is in nature, even more so at times. It can melt anything; but, I still think my favorite weapon is my sword. This sword is made of both bronze and iron, the base being iron and the rest being bronze. It may seem primitive compared to the weapons I used two thousand years ago, and those of today, but this bronze is reinforced with the fact that I am wielding it.

You might also be wondering why I am making this so easy for my foe. Should I not be hiding my forces where he cannot find them instead of making myself seen? I am not worried about getting discovered. I have tactics that even Aaron and Hephaistion can not anticipate. I will be even more cunning and unpredictable than before. It is a good thing I am charging right now too, for the Hellenic League is on its way here. They know that I will redo my battles in places I have been before and they have read up on them all. But, they do not know what else will happen.

I will not use my whole army, as they think. No, I will use only myself and about 500 lightly armed infantry, cavalry, archers, and javelineers. I will attempt to kill their commander, or at least their generals. I am not aiming to kill their whole force, just who leads them; only _then will I offer peace. If they refuse this, then they will have to taste my lightning bolts. Tonight, I charge and tomorrow, I beat the crap out of them all. And I will do all of this with absolutely no regrets as my mortal mind is not leading me on this reconquest. It has lost its hold over me. My daimon has taken over now. It feels no pity and offers virtually no peace. It needs nonstop war.

I will enjoy and do enjoy this prospect, for I did not get this glorious chance the first time I fought my way across half the world. No, my men wanted to stop conquest. But now, I have men who are eager to help me. These new men are enthusiastic, for they were supposed to serve in Iraq and Iran. They are serving under me, a much worthier task than fighting in a nearly decade long war, do you think? I am letting my daimon guide me now. I will fight with abandon that only I can have. I know I must do that. With pleasure.

"Kanis," Pikachu asked, "what report do you have for me?"

"Sire, you were right. This march isn't hard, it's just that the road isn't well maintained. We can't stay on route how you want without getting off the road."

"Get my engineers over here at once!" I heard Pikachu say. "We have to discuss how we can fix the road!" With a wave and "Yes Sire!" Kanis rode away.

Pikachu smiled, satisfied. "I'm actually starting to like this," he said, reaching over and holding onto the edge of my shield as he walked. "What do you think of all this?" he asked us, "like me leading you and all?"

"Well," Darius said, "I think it's pretty cool. You're showing all of us that you can lead an army on your own." Darius's dark brown eyes shone with pride. "And to think," he said, "just last year you were a normal Pikachu. Now, you're leading a Macedonian army through Asia!"

"And you have the best as your second in command," A26 purred as he marched behind Pikachu. "I feel so alive being on the road again. I feel like I've gotten a chance to redeem myself for all the bad things I did. How far have we marched like this, anyway?" he suddenly asked.

"About," Pikachu said, counting on his fingers, "five miles per hour, so, twenty miles so far."

"We've been marching for more than three hours?" Ash complained. "My legs are killing me!"

"Ash, you may be my trainer, but we're in a war and I can't take your complaining!" Pikachu rebuked. "You're lucky that I know you and that I can tolerate this or else I would have reduced your rank. Now, do what you're told and ooh!" he interrupted himself, "we're here! The River Granicus! Marching all night was worth it!"

He was right; I could see that the small river with a tall and almost vertical opposite bank was about five miles away. "We have less than an hour to go, Ash!" he encouraged his trainer with a prod in the shoulder with his sword. "We'll be there in, no time?" he said. "Oh Philotas!" he yelled. "He, got here before us! Run!"

"Run!" Pauline shouted behind her, passing the order down the column. We sped up and reached the bank of the river in less than forty five minutes and as soon as we stopped marching, we set up camp, pitching Pikachu's tent and having a war council where we stood. "We have to see what he'll do," Hephaistion suggested. "Maybe he'll offer terms-" but he was stopped by the sound of marching men and trotting horses. "He's not offering terms," Aria said. "How large is his force?"

"From the sound of it," Pauline cocked her ear toward the tent flap, listening, "about one thousand infantry and, less than half of his companion cavalry. And, approximately half of his javelineers."

"Thank you," Pikachu praised. "Let's get out there and arm the men."

"How many do we need?" I asked.

"Half of Ptolemy's battalion, half of Aria's battalion, the Diadochi, Ash's Companions, and Odysseus's javelineers. And we'll use half of Tracey's hoplite infantry as a back-up. Move out!"

"Affirmative Sire!" A26 said, and we moved out of the tent to see that clear, sunny day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but I felt that this would be a major fight.

I helped Pikachu into his armor, being his Master in Arms as well as a battalion commander. "Ready?" he asked me and all present.

I nodded slightly as I put his helm on his head. "I don't know," I said serenely. "This just seems so, improbable, that we're fighting in a real battle. Let's get out there."

"Are you nervous?" Darius asked Pauline. She was a hoplite and she was with me.

"I'm really, really, scared," she replied, uneasy. "It's just that, I've admired Alexander since the middle of sixth grade, so I've known him for almost one and a half years. I thought he wouldn't do this, but lo and behold, he's doing it. I just want to get him back to how he was when I met him." She drew her sword and strapped on her shield. "Come on! Let's show him!"

This was where my memory became a blur. The only things I saw were my sword, Pikachu's black shield moving up and down, the only tactile sensation that of my sword cutting through limbs and breast plates and helmets. Pauline was fighting close by, stabbing and slashing, making it look like her blindness wouldn't affect her ability to fight. The enemy troops kept coming at us with swords drawn. Pauline screamed as she got a gash in her sword arm, her left arm, and another in her left shoulder. Pikachu had some cuts on his face and there was an arrow in his right shoulder too. We thought this battle wouldn't end until night fell, but then Alexander's troops began to withdraw. First the left, then the center, went backing up. "Don't stretch!" Pikachu commanded Aria and Ptolemy. "He's using the Oblique Order! He wants us to come up so he can surge back up and kill us all!"

"No!" I argued. "He's actually withdrawing. They're already in his camp, look! Only his Companions are left and even half of those are gone! Bring our forces in as well!"

"Okay!" he agreed. "Retreat!" Pikachu hollered. "Bring back exactly how many troops he has and, he's alone except for his javelineers? What the hell? Odysseus, bring your people up here, Laeggis, Alphis, get your people out of here!"

We did so and we formed up into a smaller phalanx. We charged at Alexander and his force, Odysseus yelling "Fire!" The javelins went flying in both directions. People by the dozen died on Alexander's side and before we knew it, half of his present javelineers were gone.

Things were getting even stranger. The two hundred fifty remaining javelineers suddenly threw all their javelins down in front of a small group of men. One javelineer refused to surrender his weapons. One figure, much taller than the rest, grabbed the man, wrenching his spears from his hands and breaking his wrists. He dislocated his arms, bending the elbows back the opposite way and throwing him down onto the ground. "Oindril!" he yelled in fury. "I told you! You follow my orders without question and without question you follow my order to give up your arms!"

"Well," I heard the man say smugly, "I'm beyond your control Alex-" "It's ALEXANDER!" the tall man screamed. "You want to have your own way? Your way is this!" He tackled Oindril and began beating him with every part of his body: hands, elbows, knees, feet, and sword. But, these blows didn't seem to do very much damage. The shorter man stabbed his remaining short spear into the taller's breast. Blood, nay, something shinier than blood, flowed from the wound and down the cuirass. "Oh shit!" Ash yelled. "The tall man's, him!"

"Who's that?" Pauline was desperate to know.

"The Great!" Pikachu answered simply and he sprinted at Alexander, sword drawn. Alexander turned away from his work on the stubborn, condemned Oindril and he gave us a secretive smile. "I did not know that you elected Pikachu to be your commander!" he said in genuine surprise. "I thought you would choose someone like Tracey!"

"I don't have the skill," I said smoothly, aiming a javelin at him, "but I do know how to kill people!" I threw the javelin and it hit home, its tip making a new gash in the conqueror's chest. Since the spear had been thrown at point blank, it should have killed him, seeing that the other wound he had received just minutes before was, gone? I was still staring at where the wound had been when I felt a pain in my right side. I fell over, clutching at my thigh.

Ash grabbed Tracey and started running towards our camp. "No need!" a girl shouted. "Cadabra, Teleport!" I turned to see Sebrina wearing a helm and a bundle of javelins strapped to her side. Tracey vanished. "Thanks," Ash panted.

"Don't mention it," Sebrina replied. "We have to wait! Look what's happening! Almost all his javelineers are dead! We're all fighting him now. Get in there and no not Pauline! Zeus damn it!" Sebrina cursed. "Ash, by all the gods help her! She has some pretty bad wounds!"

Ash grabbed Pauline and I helped her to back up. "Pikachu," she whispered, "what will I do? Where will you take me?"

"Hospital tents," Sebrina replied. "Darius and Tracey are already there, so you won't be alone."

"Sure," Pauline replied.

"Teleport!" Sebrina said again. I watched Pauline vanish too. _We have already lost some of our best soldiers. I thought sadly. But I'll have to fight _him. "Nasty Plot!" I screamed, improving my Special Defense forty percent.

Alexander approached me with another creepy smile. "So," he said smoothly, "it's you. The descendant of Epeminondas." He did mock respect, bowing. "Oh, I surrender my forces to a would-be ally. Sure that'll happen! I'll show you!" He suddenly shouted angrily, grabbing me by the arms. "You're going to die, Minondass! I will make it easy for you-" I cut Alexander off by stabbing my sword into his left shoulder and into the side of his neck. Alexander snarled and he bared his teeth. When in the name of Absol did he get his teeth filed? I saw him lean down and I felt myself writhing in his grip. I felt great pain in my right arm and everything went black.

The last things I heard were a collective shout of "No!" from our side, another shout of "Yes!" from my assailant, and one of "Teleport!" from Sebrina. Then, I became unaware of every sensation.

"That's it," a female voice cooed, and I felt someone stroke my hand. "Pikachu, Minondass, that's fine. Breathe in, breathe out. Stay as still as possible."

"Where," I gulped. "Where am I?"

"We brought you in," Athena said gently. "We won the battle!"

My heart almost stopped with the thrill-winning a battle against Alexander! Not Alexander, we won against, Alexander. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Athena asked me.

"Kind of," I answered, "if you're considering this to be a bitter-sweet victory."

"I'm thinking of that," Pauline said from the cot beside me. Her arms and her shoulder were in bandages, but otherwise, she was okay. "I'm thinking the sweet part is that one: you've learned how to command in battle and two: we won our first battle. The bitter parts, one: Alexander's wounds made him stronger and two: since he lost a battle, he'll want to kill us even more than before."

I looked over at Tracey; her blonde hair wasn't tied back like it usually was, it hung down to her shoulders. Her blue eyes glimmered like polished granite under a bright light. I thought about how similar she looked to, Alexander. He looked so much like a child of Athena before, but he ended up being a child of the most powerful Olympian, Zeus. _I may be a child of Zeus as well, I thought, but how can I ever beat him? He's given me so much knowledge, but yet, he has injured most of my friends. Well, at least I don't _have. I stopped and looked down at my right arm. Where Alexander had used the attack Cut Down, there was a fresh scar in the shape of a capital A. I rubbed a finger against it gingerly, feeling how clearly it showed on my skin. "Look at this!" I told everyone. "It's my first war scar! Darius, come look!"

The Persian king came up to my cot and bowed before taking a look at the scar. "Whoa," he said in amazement. "How did you get that?"

"Alexander used Cut Down on me," I said proudly. Then, I turned serious. "Is there a way to, you know, take it off? I'm officially branded as one of his enemies. Anyone would know who I was from this scar."

"Sire!" Tracey yelled at me. "You cannot remove a first war scar! You would be a disgrace to the men!"

"It is an honor to be wounded by such a worthy opponent!" Pauline told me.

"Wounded you may be," Aria said, standing from her cot to face me, "but when this is all over, you could say `I survived the most powerful pokemon move known and done by Alexander at that!` Do you not want this honor, Sire? Do you want to be like us? We have all received wounds from him, but they do not compare to yours!"

I thought for a moment. Then, to please her and everyone in the tent, and deciding that it was an honor, I said, "Sure! I accept this token of war with gratitude! From now on, even when I wear armor, I will let this scar be seen! I want the world to know who I am and who I am fighting! Pikachu Ketchem, son of Zeus, successor to Epeminondas of Thebes and Archelaos of Macedon, and the world's first pokemon commander!" We cheered and the physicians continued their work, heartened by my words.

Leonardo da Vinci, notebook 101, page 4 (decoded)

This may be my last log. I can't predict what will happen one minute from now, let alone tomorrow. Today was probably one of the coolest and scariest of my life. When we finished marching, we ended up at the river Granicus. Almost right after we struck camp, we fought a battle with about five thousand of our forces. Three fourths of Alexander's javelineers died in the fighting along with about one thousand more of his infantry. We only lost about fifty of our own and Pikachu will burn their shrouds tonight.

He also got wounded today. He had scars all over his body, but on his arms, legs, and face especially. He got Cut Down used on him and he is recovering now. I bet he'll be out of the hospital tent after I finish this log. His scar is in the shape of a capital A. It is his first major wound!

I'm proud that I even have a command at all, commanding pokemon phalanx infantry! I wasn't called to fight, but I heard about what happened from Tracey and Darius. From how things are going, I think I know where the next battle will be: Issos, the plain between a river and the mountains.

MAY 12 2010, BATTLE OF GRANICUS THOUGHTS

My only thought on this battle: terrifying. I was scared when I saw Alexander's army-about six thousand men bent on killing us. Leonardo has said five thousand, but he doesn't know the truth, it's six thousand. I fought one-on-one with Alexander. I feared as much would happen, and even with my training, I wasn't able to hold my own.

On the other hand, I was excited to lead the army. We didn't use our whole force, but it was a good start, using one fifth of it. It was exhilarating to lead the charge, my sword take Alexander's men to Hades. I am a little guilty of doing this, for I know these men were forced into this, but this is war. I'll have to do this more over the course of the week.

Leonardo's intelligence, being one of the scouts, has told me that Alexander's heading for Issos. After I bury our dead, I will tell the troops to march there at the double. I'll face you again Alexander, and I'll win, again!

CHAPTER NINE NOTES: The next chapters will be like chapter eight. To Issos.

9: A Tied Battle

_Satisfaction. I feel this right now. Satisfaction. Satisfaction that my suspicions were correct. Satisfaction that my battle plan has worked. Pikachu, no, Minondass, has shown what he can do in war. He has shown me that he has sufficient knowledge of my tactics, probably from Aaron. He knows how to handle his men. But he is too confident in his abilities, for he has not won, I have!_

_I hoped that him not knowing what my forces were would confuse him. I am unsure of what he did to find out this information, but it does not worry me. Oh Minondass, if only you could see the expression on my face now. I do not despise you fully for trying to fight me, I admit that. You can hold your own and I have seen so. You can deploy your forces well and I have seen so. This and this alone, I admire you for doing, even if you are fighting me. But Minondass, if only you could know what I think of now, below the surface of my mind. Beyond the brilliance I am still known for, there is, my alternate mind. That of my daimon. It normally does not show itself unless I am in danger or if I am angered beyond imagining possible. But now, it shows itself more often. My mortal mind has taken hold once more, but I do not know how long this will last. It could lose its guidance over me at any moment, even..._

_It is great to do this again. To see that another battle is won by me, to see another confused and overconfident enemy, made so by me. I am reminded of how it was back before India. India. Pah! I am still wondering why in the name of Hector's defiled corpse I went there. To extend my empire, yes. But why, why! did the men not want to go farther? Why! They had known me for more than a decade and some of them even more than that! They knew I would want to go farther and they should have embraced it, not run from it like Darius from the battle of Issos! Instead of shouting `We want to go home!` they should have shouted `We want to go farther!`_

_I love this new campaign. I am very glad to have men who are eager to serve under me. I have told them of the prophecy and they fear me. They think that if they defy an order, I will send them to the Hellenic League to be crushed by me. But yet, they also love me. They understand me and my tactics. They know of my love for war and just the feel of marching onto the field of battle._

_Why didn't I use my whole force? Because, well, I knew that it was not necessary. I want the Hellenic League to think that I will have a series of small battles and then, one big decisive one. That is what I will do. Only at the final battle will I use the whole of my army. At last, you might ask this: `when will my mortal mind take over again?` No one knows, not even the gods or the Fates. I will let my daimon's control over me run its course. But all I know is, I will feel that my mortal mind is back in control when this week is up. Or when I have taken down this Macedonian pretender! Issos, begin!_

"We are gathered here today," Minondass said, "to honor those who have fallen in this battle. These people have served with valor, cunning, and with the knowledge that they might not make it back to camp alive. In the style of ancient Greece, we will burn the shroud and body for each person that has gone in our service. However, instead of being different, the shrouds will all be the same. This is done not to show how similar they are, but how no matter where we may have come from and what we did before we came here, we are all part of this one league: the Hellenic League.

Our emblem, two swords in a circle, is embroidered into each shroud to show how they all served under us to the best of their ability. They will all be burned here by the ritual specialists of this army, Netosanes and Cricktus." When their names were called, Netosanes and Cricktus headed to the base of the dais and bowed deeply. "We are honored," Netosha raised her voice, "to do this service for our fallen comrades. They will be given a common tomb like the Sacred Band. Torchic rise!" she voiced.

"Lileep go!" Cricktus selected his pokemon.

"Torchic Sacred Fire!" "Lileep Mimic!" The fire began around the pokemon, then it spread to the pile of bodies beside me. I watched as the fire grew in intensity, turning the bodies to ashes right before my eyes. It didn't take long for them to burn: as soon as they were turned to cinders, Minondass had the generals help him put them into a big urn. He placed the urn into a stone tomb made very quickly thanks to our rock type trainers. He turned to us again and said, "This may be our first loss, but think about what you have all done. For those who have fought, you have done so valiantly! Alexander, would be proud of all of you! However, we do not have the privilege of his presence."

"What about the Diadochi?" a man reminded him.

"Yes of course!" he remembered. "The Diadochi! They were a vital part of this battle. They helped to get the withdrawal to begin. You guys will be awarded your proper honors when this war ends, if it ends. Now," he concluded, "get back to your posts and get some sleep. We march at midnight." The men yelled their approval and left the sacrifice area that had been pegged out in front of Minondass's tent. "Come on," he commanded. "Let's get some sleep."

That night was stirring with sound: the sound of horses being led around, the sound of excited men, the sound of weapons getting strapped onto mens' backs. "Hedaroy advance!" Minondass yelled. "Aristander, get up here!"

"Aristander?" I asked, confused.

"You!" he said, laughing. "We're doing it in honor of the Telmisian seer. I bet you're part of Aristander's bloodline. Pauline, Ash, Hephaistion, all of you, get into the Royal Guard!"

"Yes Sire!" we answered and we went to the front of the column. "Cricktus! Netosanes! You too!"

"We're here Sire!" the two attendants of Athena came to Minondass's side. "Follow the torches!" Pikachu told us. "Only follow the torches! Diadochi, you last! March!" I heard the electric type commander order. We were on the move again.

It wouldn't take very long to get to our destination. Minondass had hired some pilots to carry most of our kit on their planes to Issos. _Thank the gods that we found working planes, I thought with relief, feeling my light pack bump against my back. All we're carrying are our pokeballs, our arms, and our _canteens. Our pace got a lot quicker this way-instead of going four miles per hour, we went twice that in ninety minutes. We were panting from the effort, though we were speed-walking, not running. Pikachu had some engineers smooth out and make new roads, as we went south faster and faster.

We had covered thirty miles in five hours. I couldn't believe we had done it. But Sire decided that we needed to go much, much, faster. "Everyone!" he boomed into his microphone, "return every pokemon except those who can do the Teleport back to their pokeballs! I will teleport the army to Issos. Do it when I give the signal!" There was a chorus of "Yes Sire!" as the order was followed. "Prepare yourselves!" he directed. "And now, Group Teleport!" The whole army held its breath, the ground vanishing beneath our feet.

The first thing that I saw was the river. It was small and with a moderate current. It was blowing to the army's left. To the right and in front of us, the mountains ringed the plain. It got thinner as it went north; we were on the southern part, its widest part. We set up camp at once, the tents being pitched where we stood. We met in my tent like the day before. "This time," I reported, "we have gotten here first. Now, we can take the initiative and start the battle ourselves. And I know what to do too."

"Will we use our whole force now?" Azelf questioned.

"No," I answered smoothly. "We will use two battalions of hoplites and half of our light Macedonian and Greek cavalry. We will also use Leonardo's battalion of pokemon phalanx infantry."

"Finally!" Leonardo thanked me, clapping his hands in excitement and gratitude. "It's my turn!"

"We'll use May's pokeball slingers and the javelineers. And," I finished, "all of our Thracian darters."

"Why so many projectile people?" Pauline asked me. "Can't you just use all of the phalanx?"

"We could," I said, "but I want to inflict as much damage as I can without using much sarissa infantry. That is for close quarter work and I don't want the phalanx to loose its shape. Alexander would want that."

"So," Hephaistion summarized, "you're using mostly light cavalry, infantry, and projectile people."

"Yeah," I confirmed. "That's-" "Wait!" A26 interrupted, "what if you _want to do the sword-and-shield thing?"

"Okay," I said, "we'll use Perdiccas's battalion and Kanis's battalion for that. We'll be prepared for it."

"we'll have about twelve thousand men in total," Ash said.

"Yeah," I said again. "Chingling, get your scouts out to the plain so we can level it and look for Alexander! And possibly see what forces he has!"

"Yes Sire!" Chingling replied and she ran out. "Stay here," I gestured at the generals, "in case we'll have to fight again. It could happen at any time."

"Don't you have to sacrifice to check for omens?" Tracey wondered. "You didn't do that last time."

"Oh yeah!" I called to mind. "Get Netosanes and Cricktus!" She ran out too.

Within minutes, we were in front of the tent. We sacrificed a lamb using poison. It died almost instantly and we cut it open to burn its entrails. I watched in fascination. "What does this mean?" I asked, pointing to the lungs. One was barely burned and still pink and the other one was black and scorched, though they'd been on the fire for the same amount of time.

"It means," Tracey said, "that the victory will be a tie."

"A literal tie as well as a figurative one," Cricktus added.

"Even if it's only a figurative or literal one," Netosanes said, "it will still be bitter-sweet. Prepare yourself, Sire."

"I will," I replied. "Let's get to the center of camp, in case we need to form up."

It was almost noon when the horn sounded. "Sire!" Bidoof announced, "Alexander is entering the plain at its northern part. He has two battalions of his phalanx, one battalion of hoplites, his Companions, two thousand of a mix of his light Greek and Macedonian cavalry, his javelineers, and his archers."

"It's almost the same as my force," I noticed at once. "but with less projectile people and hoplites. Is he planning on fighting with the sword-and-shield tactic?"

"Probably," Bidoof said. "Will you ask the men to form up now?" I answered with the order "Form up!"

My suspicions about our enemy were true-there they were: the Companions at the right, the phalanx in the middle, his cavalry the back of the right and the whole of the left wing, his archers and javelineers on the extreme left and right. If he had hoplites, they were in the very back. I did the same, but I put my projectile infantry everywhere, mostly on the wings. I knew that shooting at heavy sarissa infantry would be useless, seeing how overlapped the shields were.

I took my place at the right as a Macedonian commander's right, and Tracey handed me my armor: the greaves, the cuirass, the helm, and last, my shield and sword. My left arm was incased in a metal exoskeleton that would bend as my arm did. But my right arm, that I left bare, showing the A-shaped scar that I had received. That way if I died, everyone would know who they had killed. "Ready to engage again?" Kanis asked me before going to his post.

"Sure," I said reassuringly, "and even if I die, and I might damn well die, Ash or A26 will take my place. And now," I said, raising my voice, "start the war paean!"

The sound of sarissas banging on shields made the beat as people in the back of the army played flutes and began singing a war song. The phalanx marched forward at a pace a little faster than a walk. Their boots marched in time to the music and it sounded like the soldiers were making a tempo of their own-that of conquest. The cavalry, horses neighing and riders encouraging their mounts, trotted along side them. "Speed it up a little!" I commanded. The music got faster and louder; then, the phalanx ran forward as fast as their formation would allow, their rhythmic steps vanishing and turning into a stampede of overlapped shields. My cavalry galloped at the double, making an even louder din. "For Minondass!" they all cried, and the Hellenic League's second battle began.

Swords clashed once more. My left arm's armor began to flex as someone shot arrows at it. I parried someone's blade and I stabbed into their breast plate. The sword worked like a charm; it killed the person and they didn't even realize what had happened. The hoplites and projectile infantry were doing their job, making serious casualties with their arrows and darts. There was a cavalry battle in both right wings and a light infantry fight in the center between the armies. Archers and slingers were fighting at the edges of the battlefield.

As for the phalanxes, they were trying to destroy each other and that wasn't working out very well. I heard a voice blare from the enemy right wing: "PHALANX RETREAT! HOPLITES STAY!" The voice that had given the command didn't pronounced the word phalanx phai-lanks, but fal-inks, putting stress on the X, but making it sound like a K or a CK. I knew that voice too well and I hoped I wouldn't have to hear it again so soon. But I was hearing it: it was Alexander, calling for a, retreat? _What the hell? I thought in confusion. _Is he retreating like last _time?

Apparently yes-the only infantry that was left was his hoplites, javelineers, and archers. His only cavalry was his Companions and less than half of his light cavalry. Their force turned into a smaller shape to accommodate the change. "COMPANIONS, HALF OF YOU AND THE REST OF THE CAVALRY, RETREAT AS WELL!" Why would he bring back his companions?

It only took seconds of looking for me to find out. Alexander had gotten new javelineers to replace the ones we had killed and they weren't just carrying javelins, but bows as well. The archers were carrying javelins as well as bows. He was prepared to have a long range missile confrontation, I realized. But why would he? They won't do much damage. Then, I found out the hard way. Two words: lightning bolts.

An archer left the ranks and approached the right wing, holding his bow and javelins out in front of him. He knelt at the feet of Alexander and said something. The fellow Macedonian commander nodded and he took the javelins and arrows in his hands. He signaled the rest of the archers and javelineers to do the same. None of them even had a thought about keeping them. As far as I could see, they had been told of what happened to the javelineer from last time. A whole army's worth of javelins and a shed's worth of arrows were deposited at Alexander's feet. Then, the projectile infantry filed into phalanx formation and went behind him. "What happens now?" Darius whispered to me.

"Prepare for shield suicide and to run," I said, and I waited to find my suspicions were confirmed.

Using my own shield and attempting to protect myself was the only thing I did; not attacking, just defending. And as for my own bodyguard, they were running for their lives, trying to avoid the bolts. The only thing I saw coming from the enemy side was the white bolts streaking at us, especially me. They looked like pieces of the sky that a mortal had somehow harnessed for war. But we weren't fighting a mortal, but a god, a full-fledged god. No demigod could compete and even Athena and Zeus couldn't stop the electrical problems the pilots had experienced on the way here. It seemed that no one could control him. Not even the Fates could determine what would happen or what he would do even though he had chosen a path. If he was beyond their control, us subjugating him was impossible. But I only realized this after the fight, the only thing I thought of and the only thing my men thought of was very primaeval and instinctive, something we all do when we want to get away from something unfamiliar and deadly. Run!

Everyone knew what my next order would be and they did so. We grabbed each others' weapons and we yanked them off, only keeping our shields. The bolts got closer, striking down fifty of our own. It happened again, about one hundred seventy five more dying at the mercy of the bolts. The helmets and shields melted on contact and the melting metal as well as the lightning was what killed them. "Archers, javelineers, darters, return fire!" I called on my archers, hoping they would have the sense to respond. They did: arrows and darts reigned down upon the reduced enemy force. They all reflected off an invisible wall and came back at us at ten times their original speed. Most of the darts ended up taking down who shot them.

"Shit!" someone yelled. "The shield of Achilles! It can deflect anything and the larger the object or the more objects launched at it, the larger the area of protection! We have to slow down so we have a bigger chance of killing people!"

"We've already done that!" Ptolemy said, pointing. "The archers, they're dead! Or they have fled!" He was right: the archers' bows and the javelineers' slings lay in piles along the field behind Alexander. There were no bodies. "We have to do the same," I replied to the fellow general. "Retreat! Shields at close order!" We gathered into groups, put shields over our heads, and ran towards our camp. I thought the bolts would continue, sheering our force in half. Here we go, I waited with a feeling of expectancy, it's time. But it didn't happen. The bolts had stopped, just as fast as they had started. I glanced over: Alexander was gone, but a track of footprints led from his post to his camp. I didn't bother following them. I didn't want to. "Come on," I said, taking Pauline's hand. "Let's go."

"Did we win?" she asked.

"We didn't win or lose," I answered. "We won, seeing that we had less casualties, but we lost too," I said, sighing, "seeing that we didn't prepare for the lightning thing. We did end up needing our phalanx infantry. Good thing you suggested that. Let's get back to camp. Darius is there and I want to see him."

We walked back to the hospital tents and sat down on the floor beside Darius's cot. He had two arrows in him, one in each of his arms and a gash in his left thigh. Pauline had similar upper bodily injuries, except there was a gash in her left upper arm as well. I reached for a bottle of sanitizer and I squirted some on her gash and on her arrow wounds. I took a cloth bandage, dipped it in water, and wrapped it around her gash. She breathed out as her pain was alleviated. "Thank you Sire," she told me.

"Don't mention it," I said modestly. "I would have done it for any of you." I took some adhesive bandages and I pressed them onto her arrow wounds next. "I just want this war to end," I said, becoming serious and sad. "And I know that I have only three or four more days to go, it's just that I would fight with no hesitation if this war was against Team Rocket, seeing that they're all bad. But against Alexander," I stopped, apprehensive and not wanting to get my second trainer worried, "it's so much harder. He, just seems so harmless, prophecy-fulfilling wise. He's in his right mind and he would usually have the sense not to give in to this. But, when he told us about his daimon, I got less certain of his state of mind. On the surface, he seems normal. I mean not normal in the usual sense, but, content with what he has. He has strong desire. And a lot of it, a lot more than one person can take, let alone able to resist its hold on oneself. I just hope he'll get back to normal as soon as this week's over. And if he does not, I'm optimistic that he'll take Team Rocket and scare them out of their minds, if not obliterate them."

It was true: this war was adrenalin-filled and I was delighted that I was elected the Captain-General of the army. It was so stunning to lead the men across the Hellespont into Asia, to lead my friends to Troy, to lead the men in battle at Granicus and Issos. "However, it was also a sobering fact that I had to fight the most successful, most famous, most brilliant conqueror and the one who's held the most territory in power on his own. And who was I? A pokemon to two trainers and an admirer to Alexander. A mere follower.

But then I realized who I was descended from! I am sprung from the Pikachu of Epeminondas, a prize of war taken from the battle of Leuctra. The Ditto that helped make the egg was that of Archelaos, a king of Macedon. I am of Theban and Macedonian blood. If I couldn't stop the prophecy and lead the war to the best of my ability, I would parish with ease. Ash and Hephaistion would take my place if this happened, but I am still scared of the fact that I could die at any time. Don't think like that, I told myself. The week's almost half over and soon, we'll be back in Pallet playing basketball at the park. But even if we don't go back to pallet, I just want to go somewhere where I can rest the men. And me. Very very soon.

"You really want to go back to Pallet, you know?" I started: Darius had sat up in bed and he had laid his hand on my arm. "If you're doing it right now, I'm thinking about it too."

I shrugged. "You could say so. Actually, you're right. I want to rest somewhere safe and familiar, if it's even possible that there's a safe and familiar place in the world that's not Team Rocket infested."

"I know where," Darius said suddenly, his face turning startled and excited, "ten letters: Alexandria! We can go there and rest for two days! Tell this to the men tonight after the burial."

"You're right!" I said cheerfully, registering the place from how many times Alexander had talked so passionately about it. "It's in Egypt, so we can keep a good eye on things in Asia. I've always wanted to go there! I'll tell the men tonight! For now," I advised him, "stay here and regain your strength until I come back here and get you. And," I added, looking at Tracey, who was sleeping, "tell Tracey I say hi."

"Sure Sire!" he perked up and lay back down, happy he had gotten a chance to talk to me.

Leonardo da Vinci, notebook 101, page 5 (decoded)

This could be my last log. I can not predict what will happen one minute from now, let alone what will happen tomorrow. I was in the fighting at last! Heading my one thousand pokemon phalanx infantry, I was one of the more than six thousand people who fought in the center. I can only remember that I killed about thirty of the enemy phalanx with my own hands. Some got trampled by the cavalry and by their own when they retreated. Pikachu, I mean Minondass, had sent some hoplites and archers to kill off the retreating people. He's getting better at handling his men, I have to admit. I'm very proud of him as if I shouldn't be already, seeing that he's leading me.

I'm very nervous about what will happen now. Alexander did what we wanted him to do, exactly like how we wanted it. It seems that he has inside information to refer to, or he just knows us so well he doesn't have to work hard. I was expecting as much, though. I am lying here in the hospital tent again, having a clerk write down what I want in my journal. I have received more gashes to my arms and face and I even broke the left part of my collar bone. That's being treated right now and thanks to the healing pokemon, it's almost back to normal. I have told the clerk, who Minondass has just declared as my own, that if I should die, he should give this journal to him or to any person who's present. When he or she gets the journal, he will tell the receiver to give it to him in turn.

I heard that Minondass wants to take a break. Speaking of this possibility, I heard that we are going to Alexandria next! Alexandria! The first of many, the place that I have recently dreamt of visiting! I want to see the fruits of Alexander's labor. We're going to skip over so much land, though: over Gordium, Tyre, many more places he had been to before. We're also going over a lot more potential battle sites that he, as well as we, could use. I'm relieved, however: I get a break from fighting and marching since we're teleporting there again. I get to see one of my favorite cities (besides Florence and Rome of course), and I get to go somewhere where I know there is no Team Rocket presence. They aren't interested in Alexandria, I guess. I have one more thing to say. I have to tell Sire something. Thank you Pikachu Ketchem, thank you Epeminondas, thank you Minondass, thank you Sire, for this golden opportunity.

MAY 13, 2010, BATTLE OF ISSOS AND BREAK THOUGHTS

This battle wasn't terrifying like the last one. It was, actually, exciting. I knew what to expect: fighting, planning, recovering from my wounds. I knew I would see men clashing and fighting for their commanders, my own men and Alexander's doing so. And plus, having time of my own before a battle happened as well.

I wasn't sure what I would do when I got here, seeing that I had arrived before Alexander. But, I ended up using my time wisely. I called a war council with all my generals. I had enough time to make my battle plan before Alexander got here. I took control of the situation and it felt really good. I felt like I could turn the tides of this battle, maybe even the whole war, with just a command from my lips.

But I also know that with this excitement, there is an overwhelming feeling of wanting a break. I really, really want to go somewhere where I can relax. I'm already tired, not of war, obviously, it's action-packed, but I am, as a matter of fact, just physically tired. I haven't been getting much sleep. But I know there are only two things I can do. I am either going to rest or I'm going to march to Tyre as fast as the army and I can.

There is a small possibility that I will go to tyre, seeing that it is another ideal battle site. I don't want to go to Tyre, though. I'm feeling that this war will not finish in four battles, for I know that the last battle will be sometime at the end of the week. It will end in three battles-that of the Granicus, that of Issos, the one that has just finished, and the final battle. Aristander has said to the army that the final battle's location will be revealed soon after a confusing thing happens.

On the other hand, no matter how much I want to go to Tyre, there is a great chance that I will not go there, but to Alexandria. Oh, the first and grandest Alexandria! Alexandria, the city that I have always wanted to go to. I just like how Alexander got the idea for it; he was probably walking out on the beach on this awesome site of a city relaxing, and he thinks almost randomly, "This is perfect! Need to found a city! Now!" That's the Alexander we all know and love. And sadly, this random and brilliant Alexander is the Alexander that should be fighting on our side right now. But I know that even without the Alexander we all love, I know I can still count on that want-to-found-a-city feeling still being here, thanks to the Diadochi. You guys are awesome: you keep me sane when I can't think of tactics, you keep me company when I'm alone, and you are great at guarding my person, by the way. A24, prepare to go to Alexandria, Egypt, again. This one is the first of the seventy or more Alexandrias you founded, in case you forgot. To Egypt! To the first Alexandria! To my favorite city, Leonardo's favorite city, and the army's soon-to-be favorite city.

CHAPTER TEN NOTES: There will be much more of Alexander's, Minondass's, my, and Leonardo's perspectives in this chapter. But there will be a lot more of all our perspectives though, so expect a lot more words. Also, if you've never been to Alexandria, what I'm saying driving wise is pretty much true. We were driving around there and this is the only time we did so. And, this is where Athena shows her dirty side, the side that almost no one sees. She really hates drivers who don't follow the rules of the road and she actually breaks many of the rules in the end herself, seeing that she was so mad at the other people. Here's our two day stay in Alexandria and here's a shocking and real twist along with it.

10: Seeing, Getting, Draining

_The army formed up to do drills today once again. It was much, much smaller, seeing what the Hellenic League had done to it. I am still not worried, however. I will not need very many men in the final battle. And it is coming up soon._

_No! Can't, stop, hands from fidgeting keyboard! Have, to, get location to Pikachu before I..._

_You can never win a mental fight against me, mortal. I am glad that your ability to fight has weakened, seeing how your victory was halved thanks to the Hellenic League._

_It has not been made a half victory! I have won fare and square with good tactics! You would not know the stuff, seeing that you just shoot lightning bolts at whatever you want and..._

_Ah, you are still thinking that? Do not do that anymore, now. Good thing I have let you stay up until now, otherwise you would have lost this battle permanently._

_Well, think about who we are fighting inside: not Pikachu, not Ash, not Hephaistion, not Aria, but Alexander the Great! He is the most famous, brilliant, successful, and the most to hold so much territory on his own in history. He is not like any normal warrior. He is supposed to be better than the others..._

_Of course I would not be worse, or else I would not be here. You, you, have rhetorical skill, my similar partner, friend, enemy. You have fought with brains, but with no brawn. You are just like Athens's orators when Demosthenes was giving speeches against me; they persuaded a lot of people, but they did not persuade me._

_You will not even think of doing it! You are..._

_Not that like you? Of course! If I was like you, then I would not be like how I am now. Powerful, undeniable, unconquerable!_

_You can never use words like that with such certainty! It is not possible! You can not just use such words with no proof of them through your deeds! You have to earn..._

_I am beyond such rules! I am beyond your control, the gods' control! Athena fights for the Hellenic League and even she can not match me! I am not controlled by the Fates either! They have told me that I can choose my destiny, and so I..._

_You have not chosen your fate, you have chosen a path: you chose to fulfill the prophecy!_

_For once, I let you finish. But only once, my similar friend, only this once. What you have said is true, yes, that I have chosen of my own free will to fulfill the prophecy. I have chosen my fate and I have excepted it as my fate. Part of it involves..._

_Winning this fight against me?_

_Yes. Very much so. You are a worthy opponent, but not a very strong one. You talk and you talk, but you can not act. You cannot fight. And, I will end your reign now, quickly and painlessly._

_You will not even..._

_Killiteen!_

_Now, Alexander, it is just you and me. I will be the one guiding you, not the mortal mind that has just submitted to me. You will get all you desire. The power, the power, and even more of the power._

_What is the first piece of advice you will give me, then?_

_You should not move your force to the location you want to go to tonight, but you should do it on Monday morning._

_Why?_

_Because, you will have time to carry out the plan I have made._

_What does it involve?_

_Alexander, very simple: you will merely lie in this bath. You will even eat your meals and give your war councils from this bath. However, I recommend that you do not give a war council or even let anyone get their request to see you granted. You will know what to do when the time comes._

_What do you mean? How long will you be guiding me?_

_Oh, until my little plan, I mean, our little plan, gets to its second to last stage._

_When will this be?_

_It takes place right after your forces arrive to where you wish to go. And after you fight, of course._

_And what will I do in this bath, again?_

_Oh, you will charge of course. You will find that the electrical currents running through these metal bands have doubled in voltage._

_Thank you for telling me. Where will the final battle be?_

_I will tell you tomorrow._

_What else will you tell me now?_

_The current, doubled as it is, is not enough to sustain us. You need more power. Much more._

_How will I get it?_

_That, I will also explain tomorrow. Get some sleep now, Alexander._

"Wow!" I shouted with delight as we appeared in front of the city. "It's massive! And it's, breezy! How?"

"It's because Alexander designed the city so that when a wind blows, it will blow through the city to cool it down." Minondass explained this feature to me and all of his generals as we walked towards the huge collection of lights. "Where are we staying?" Perminion asked us.

"There's an apartment building where I've arranged us to stay," he replied. "Come on. It's as hot as Hades out here! I need to take a cold bath." We all needed to do that, so the army, in its about thirty divisions, went down the two main streets to a building with the Hellenic League logo on its front door. There were nine more such buildings on the same small street. _At least we don't have to hear the _traffic, I thought with relief as I carried our supreme commander up the stairs to the top floor where we would be staying. _I heard about how hard it is to drive here, and I'm getting anxious for the time when and if we do have to _drive. But I put these worries aside and I set our commander on a chair, sat on the floor beside him, and started to remove his heavy armor. "So," he said, lifting his helmet off himself, "Who's going to stay in my apartment with me? It has room for eight people including me."

"I want to stay!" I volunteered. "How about you, Ash?"

"Sure!" he agreed. "Don't be surprised if I don't talk much, okay?"

"Okay," Pikachu said eagerly, happy his two trainers could come with him. "Hephaistion? Athena?"

"Yeah!" they said enthusiastically. "Netosha? Crick?"

"_Hell yes!" the two siblings claimed their spots in the apartment together. "How about Pauline?"

"I want to stay here," she told us as she came in, setting her cane on the floor.

"That's everybody," he said, counting out the seven of us and ading one, which was himself, confirming that there were eight people. "Unpack your stuff, everyone. Later like after lunch, we'll go see the city and its sites."

The people staying in our apartment went out to see the city, as Minondass had promised. It was hot outside, so we decided to wear the Greek attire-chitons and sandals, instead of shorts. We were technically representing the reincarnation of the ancient Hellenic League, so it was fitting. Supporters of our cause lined the streets in the thousands, chanting our names. It was beautiful: the view of the Mediterranean Sea, the cloudless sky, everything but the fact that we had decided to drive through Alexandria. We had found this out the hard way.

We did know that driving rules were different here, but we didn't know how different. When we got our rental car and were about to head into one of the lanes, we discovered there weren't any. It was just a street, with no lanes, no traffic lights, no stop signs, nothing. For the most part, we just followed along with what the other drivers were doing. But, we also found out that this could be summarized in two words: reckless driving.

Athena had to take the brunt of all this, seeing that she was driving us around. As soon as we pulled onto the road, someone sped in front of us and honked their horn at us for no reason. "What are we doing wrong?" I asked Athena.

"I don't know," she said truthfully, trying to swerve around the cars. "I've never driven in a place so crazy. It's worse than New York. Hey!" She yelled at a random driver who was stalled in the middle of the road. "Why the _hell are you sitting there, you! This is a street, not a parking lot!"

"I don't even want to know what's going on," Hephaistion said, gripping the back of the seat in front of him tight. He got car sick really easy and we had forgotten that too.

"Thank the gods you can't see what's happening. You really don't want to _shit!" Athena stopped her sentence as she swore at another driver, who had crashed into the rear of our car. There was no damage, but it was still scary. "What the _hell is going on in this city?"

"It's not America, remember," Crick pointed out, "there are different driving ideals here in Egypt."

"I know," Athena said, exasperated as she veered to avoid hitting a person crossing the street, "it's just that, even in New York, where there are crazy drivers, at least they stay crazy within their lane, you know. Philotas you!" she screamed as she saw that there was a row of idling cars blocking the road. "In the name of Homer and his screwed up version of clarification, what are we going to do?"

"Before you cuss us to death," Netosha cut in, "I have a suggestion: how about we just ditch driving altogether?"

The goddess of wisdom thought briefly, then became her old happy self as she parked the car haphazardly near the curb. "Forget driving," she muttered, "we can walk everywhere, though it's so hot out here. I think I know where we can go, though. There's a public computer lab where we can hook up our laptops. Sire," she directed at Minondass, "you can look at the latest report from the scouts while we're there. Come on."

Athena led us down the street to a white building. It had columns and a familiar design on the roof: a frieze, a strip of sculpture around the top of the wall. "There's a lot of columns and a frieze on this building," I whispered to Pauline, who was walking along side me, grasping my arm.

"Why does this design seem so," she said to us, trailing off.

"Greek?" Athena filled in. "Yeah, I wondered at that too, but you had better come inside. It's amazing!"

"You've been here before?" Crick wondered curiously.

"As a matter of fact I have, back when this place was run by the Ptolemys. They had a public museum where people could study and show off inventions. This building is the modern equivalent to that same museum." She opened the door and we stepped inside to find, a, knowledge paradise!

The first things I saw were the computers, stationed on the perimeter of the room. There were hundreds of them, each desk with both a Mac and a PC. There were printers and huge stacks of paper between the desks. Maps and charts of every kind papered the walls and it seemed that a copy of each one lay beside each computer. In the middle of the room, there were boxes and boxes of parts, parts that could be used to build anything: screws, bolts, nuts, washers, hammers and pliers and every kind of tool imaginable. I saw someone come out of a room with a sword and a whetstone in their hand and I guessed that there was a weapons room here as well. Racks of scrolls, books, and CDS lined the walls between the desks. But the thing that amazed me were the statues.

They were at the center, the corners, and flanks of all the doors of the room. The museum was the size of a football stadium, so having this many statues didn't surprise me. It was just, who the statues were portraying shocked me. And Tracey and everyone else. The statues were all of people we could recognize merely by their height and form: Azelf, Hephaistion, myself. But the detail surprised me. The marble was tinted just like in life, the proportions that in life, and the eyes, the eyes the exact same color as in life. I looked at a statue of myself just to see how similar the statue was to me: it was me, quadruped but biped in walking, and with a light skin tone. But my statue's eyes, they were the same keen ultramarine eyes. I had never seen such a bright shade of blue before, except in the eyes of... "Alexander," I whispered longingly.

"What?" Hephaistion said, frowning. "Sire, is something wrong?"

"No," I said, looking away from my statue, "it's just that, look!" I pointed over outside. "Go out there and tell me if that statue seems familiar! Really familiar."

We all went outside and looked at the first sculpture. It was, beautiful in a kind of terrifying way. It was like I was looking at who I had to face in two days: the same height, more than a foot taller than in previous historical fact, the proportions were perfect and this made this statue more lifelike than the rest. The light pale stone the statue was made of, which matched the coloring in real life exactly. The armor, which was the same as the set I had seen so many times, was fitted on the statue to the last millimeter. But this wasn't what made the statue, so, true to life; no, it was the eyes.

"Oh, my gods," Athena gasped. She was looking above my head at something. "It's, him!" I craned my neck up to see what she was staring at.

I could see why she was petrified with the statue's realness. The features of the face were fine: high cheek bones, a long, straight nose, a forehead prominent when compared to the rest of the face. A small, but powerful jaw and a short, jutting chin. But the eyes, back always to the eyes.

The dark brown eye was like how it was in real life, brown as the so many chocolate bars we had eaten last year over the summer. It, however, also had a dark quality that made it almost black. It had just enough brown pigment to be called brown. If I could name it, it would be called Deep Brown, for when I looked into that eye, it seemed like even when it was blazing with anger, it could just as easily look pleased and content.

This eye, deep and knowing as it was, didn't even compare to the, other eye. The blue gray eye. Just as I had seen it three months ago, before all this stuff started, it was unique and cool; but just like three months ago, it was, menacing. The blue, so clear, so stunning, just like the waters of the lagoon at Pella. But the gray, the gray: that was at the total end of the color spectrum. It was dark and it seemed that the light hitting it was absorbed at once by it. It wasn't just dark, but it was, shiny? No, fiery. And to my eyes, which were wide at this site, fiery with rage. It was like the eyes together were saying, just like Mary Renault had done in her book Funeral Games, `Well?` But to me, they weren't just saying that; they were saying `Well, Minondass, we meet again? Still fighting, eh? It's not worth it; just surrender...` "Can we go inside now?" I whispered to the group of us.

"Sure," Tracey said. "But why, Sire?"

"I don't need to explain, you already know." I tried to look confident as we went back inside, and as I stepped away, I swear I could feel the statue's burning eyes on my back. I was afraid to say or think the name nowadays, but now I did. _Alexander, I thought, I just saw your _daimon.

I sat down at a computer with a lot of relief. "Let's see," I mused, "what's your user name, Athena?"

"AthensIsMine," she said proudly. "My password's AmonBeGone! Fitting, huh?"

"Yeah," I laughed as I logged in so I could use the computer.

"Let's see," the goddess dictated the instructions to me, "go to the Desktop and click the app League Look. Click the default given when it asks you `search for?` The default's, him."

I clicked on the icon and I watched as the computer flicked from picture to picture, from Pallet, to Pella, to Issos, and to, a place by a big river. "Those images are in chronological order," Athena said. "That picture's the most recent one, probably a couple hours old. New pictures are taken every half hour."

"Where is this place?" Tracey asked. She had been silent until now.

"It's probably-was "Wait!" Pauline said, putting her hand on my arm. "Notice how these pictures are from Alexander's route the first time?"

"You're right!" Crick and Netosha cried. They had been watching silently too, until now. They screamed, "Euphrates! Tigris! Euphrates! Battle field!"

"What?" Ash finally talked. "What did you say?"

"Euphrates!" Crick said.

"Tigris!" Pauline added.

"Euphrates again," Hephaistion repeated.

"And, finally," I finished, knowing full well what they meant by their almost spontaneous shout, "Euphrates. Four words: Alexander. Going. To. Gaugamela!"

"That's where he's going now!" Athena became aware of this fact. "Gaugamela!" She pronounced it like it was tabooed like we did with Alexander's name. "He's there now! Or he's marching there as we speak!"

"But remember," I said, "I came here to relax. Or at least, to have one day to relax. But evidently, this would never be possible. Tomorrow, even though it will make my break short," I concluded, closing the app after looking at the pictures again, "we will ask for support from the Alexandrians. They have been hospitable enough to allow the army to stay here. Might as well give them something in return and let them fight. Come on. Let's rest up and tomorrow, someone, not me since I've given my share of speeches, will give the speech."

"I want to do it!" Tracey volunteered, and I nodded with approval.

That night wasn't very eventful, we just slept. I was excited with the prospect that I might be able to enroll some Egyptians in my army. With this happy thought, I fell asleep.

Leonardo da Vinci, notebook 101, page 6 (decoded)

This might be my last log. I can never ever predict what will happen one minute from now let alone what will happen tomorrow.

But today, I don't need to predict, I know what will happen to us, anyway. Four words: Tracey, gives, a, speech. She will give Minondass's speech.

He did this not to look like a coward, it's just that he wants to have a break from speaking. And also, Tracey volunteered of her own self determination to become less nervous about talking in front of people. There's one more reason: she's never given a speech in front of us before, so that will be a new thing we can look forward to.

I don't have much else to say about today. But if you're all wondering how Jack, Lisa, and Annie are doing, they're doing well. They're staying with me in an apartment across the hall from Pikachu, I mean, Minondass. He's told us to call him that as much as possible; he's hoping it will catch on. I think it's working in a way; we call him by both names. We will hear the speech with him tomorrow.

In addition to this, all I know is, on Saturday and on every remaining night that the army and I have left, I will have much more to say, if I get to logging at all. Pikachu, come on, log, and talk.

MAY 14, 2010, ALEXANDRIA THOUGHTS, DAY ONE

Today was awesome! I'm finally in my favorite city of favorite cities! Alexandria! Awesome! Like no other! Extra cool! X, impossible to find a word for. A place where Team Rocket doesn't dominate. Not like other cities in any way. Driving is impossible here. Really, just awesome that this city was founded at all. I hope we can come here after the war. Alexandria!

Yes, random, but I'm just so happy that we're finally here. If only Alexander could see it. He would be crying for the whole time. Oh, good times. But it was kinda ruined seeing that I saw a statue of him that was exactly like him. I mean, it was so lifelike that I was expecting it to, I don't know, move, like to start smacking Hephaistion. I don't know. Right after seeing it, I was so scared, but now that it's nighttime and after the incident, I feel so much better.

Tomorrow, Tracey is going to give a persuasive speech to try to convince the locals to come with us. We have to fill up about two hundred positions, seeing that some people died at the Granicus and at Issos. If it doesn't work, then I can go to Pallet for help; they're forever loyal to us. I want to prepare for the battle of Gaugamela. Sorry, the second battle of Gaugamela. I'm ready. We're all ready. Leonardo and I won't be logging for the rest of the week; we'll be too busy. But, we'll be preparing so we won't have time to log anyway. We're ready, Alexander! Give us all you've got!

_Oh Saturday, the last day of the week. And the last Saturday of the Hellenic League's existence if our plan does work out. This will not take long, Alexander. We will merely see where we are and what we can do now._

_So, we are about to cross the Euphrates a second time. It will not be very hard, since I have done it before. The only things we are carrying are our arms, our canteens, and our tents and nothing more._

_Yes, we are ahead of schedule, in fact. I expected that we would be here tomorrow. But enough small talk. I will tell you how to get the energy needed to sustain us._

_How?_

_Power draining. You have the ability to take away the electrical power from everything within a fifty mile radius, likely even more. You just need to exploit this ability. It will only take five minutes to complete, but I want to wait._

_Why wait? Why not do it right now?_

_Well, we both want to see how Minondass is doing currently, do we? I know that he is pleading support from the Alexandrians. We should let him do this, at least; and I, as well as you, want to see how he copes with the draining._

_When will we begin the draining process?_

_Oh, when his little Aristander gives her speech. We will strike at their core: their communication lines. Without electricity, getting messages everywhere quickly will be impossible._

_When will Aristander give her speech?_

_Oh, it will happen momentarily. As soon as it is over they will find that the city and the whole of Asia, Africa, and Europe will be how it used to: with there being no way to move besides with forced marches. That will wear them down and when they get to Gaugamela, that is when I will leave you. I have made a strong enough impact on you; you will know what to do when the time comes. Now, we wait._

"Come on Tracey," I whispered to myself, staring up at the blonde-haired girl up at the podium. She stood straight and sturdy, not able to be moved by anyone or anything. She was our only chance at getting support.

_I can't let Epeminondas down, I thought, calming myself and emptying my mind of all emotion and of all actions but for giving the speech. This is not just for me, and for Minondass but for the whole of the Hellenic League, for the whole world, for if we fail, we will not have enough people who can help with our cause! Do it Tracey, do it for your sire _Aristander! And so I did.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Hellenic League members! Alexandrians! Assorted listeners! You may not know why I am here and let alone who I am, and I will tell you. I am Tracey Esteron, daughter of Apollo and one of the descendants of Aristander! Aristander was Alexander the Great's seer!" When I said Alexander the Great, the crowd cheered and clapped vigorously. They apparently knew much about the one who founded their city. "Well," I said, "he is not what he seems, for if you have seen him in pictures, on video, or even in person, you would think he would not be the one to give in so easily to temptation and to choosing a path."

I paused. "But he has, my friends, he has. Have you heard of the anime or book Reign the Conqueror?" The crowd nodded and muttered their recognition. "Well, this prophecy is not just a plot twist to get more people reading or watching, but it is real! Yes, as crazy as this might sound, this prophecy is real!"

The crowd whispered some more, this time in confusion, and for a few of them, understanding. "As you may know, we, the Hellenic League, have been traveling across the world in order to stop this prophecy, for Alexander is fulfilling it as we speak! And do you know what will happen when this prophecy is fulfilled?" I heard someone in the back of the crowd shout, "No! not that! He would not!" and I answered with a wry smile, for I had said the same. "But alas, it is. He has given in to his daimon and it is leading him now. He is on our side no longer, or if he is on our side, he is doing it on his own.

You may want to know why this prophecy is so momentous, and I will tell you. It is so momentous for when we compared the anime Alexander with the real one three times four days ago, well, that is when he got the desire to-was I stopped: I didn't want to make our situation worse, but I needed to, "the desire to destroy the world. He will destroy the world to fulfill the prognostication that the anime makers had foretold of.

As for Alexander's travels, he is on his way to Gaugamela right now. Gaugamela is also known as the Camel's Hump. He is going to set his troops and battle line there. We will be marching there next. We came here to rest, for we are all tired. We have never fought in a war like this before and our bodies are not trained for it. Thanks to our lack of training, we have lost two hundred of our own best fighters. And this lack of troops is the second reason why we have come."

I watched the faces, which had two expressions, both of them extreme. About a third of the people looked skeptical, frowning at me with dissatisfaction, wanting more information. `This can not be true,` they were probably thinking. `She could not have traveled here so fast! To travel from Greece to Egypt would take weeks.` And then, there was the remaining two thirds of the people, who all showed understanding of what we needed and fear at who we were fighting. `We can help,` They thought, `but fighting against him, impossible!`

"You may think that I can not be who I say I am," I conflicted with the faces of the nonbelievers, "but you will believe me when you see this!" I pulled up the right leg of my jeans up beyond the knee, put my leg up on the podium, and showed the long scar on my thigh to the crowd. They were shocked at what they saw and most showed sympathy too. "I got this when Alexander stabbed me here," I explained, putting my hand on the scar. "You can not get a wound like this in any other way but in war!"

Now the crowd was into it, I could tell. Time to ask them for help. "Alexandrians! Everyone in the army thanks you for your willingness to let us stay here! This is greatly appreciated. But we need to ask another favor from you. Alexander has killed off two hundred of our best men as I have mentioned before and we have not had time to replace them. I am here to plead for you to come forward and take their positions. Your pay will be good and as for your positions, you can decide on it for yourselves. You will know what to do when you meet our commander.

But, I can not give a good argument now as every moment I speak is another moment we could use on the march. So, residents of the first Alexandria," I begged, "those who wish to follow us, please come forward now! For the world!"

There was no hesitation at all: more than two hundred people came forward, more like one thousand than two hundred. "Excellent!" I yelled with delight. "Now, you will meet us back here early tomorrow morning and-was The microphone suddenly gave a long beep as it ran out of power. "Just do as I have said!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Do it! Please!"

While saying the last few sentences of my speech, I had noticed that the roar of traffic that had masked my words a little before had stopped. There was no sound of the cars that should be passing by the plaza we had chosen as our gathering place. "Oh no," I said fearfully. "It can't be." As if in reply, there was a deafening zapping noise that seemed to come from everything around us. Lights in windows and the few traffic lights that I hadn't noticed before shut off, most of their glass filaments shattering after it happened. "What's going on!" I yelled above the clamor.

"Power drain!" Pikachu rejoined with dismay and terror. "Everyone in the army and our new recruits, get out of the city fast and meet where you will be most visible! And that is the monument outside of town! Run!"

The plaza was chaos: people scrambled away from the sidewalk as others sprinted away from the plaza and out of the city. Cars sat where they had been parked, but thank the gods that they were parked somewhere decent for the most part. Yells of awareness of what had just occurred ran through the city on the wind like Hermes's flying sandals and just as fast. "He's done it!" someone bellowed. "The Hellenic League! They can't get out of here!"

"We are and will get out of here!" Minondass screamed in response. "If you want to help, come with us! Meet me at the monument that looks like a scale model of the lighthouse that used to be here! Its base is square, middle octagonal, top cylindrical! Twenty five miles south out of town! Bribe someone if you need to get a ride! Alexander's daimon has struck again!"

CHAPTER ELEVEN NOTES: Chaotic is the only way to describe the first part of this chapter. Chaotic. It switches from my opinion to Minondass's opinion. You will be able to tell the difference between the perspectives very easily. Alexander's perspective's not featured in this chapter very much for once. You'll see tons of him later.

11: Gaugamela Round Two

"Sire!" I hollered as I saw Minondass run for his life towards the monument, which was still about twenty miles away. He had managed to go the first five miles himself. "Sire!" I yelled again and I got him into my backpack. He nodded slightly and we ran for the monument together. "I thought," he panted, "he wouldn't dare-" "Get us here?" I finished. "We all thought that. But I guess he just thinks of Alexandria as a city like any other now."

"Where's Leonardo? Lisa? Jack? Annie? Pauline?" Minondass uttered the list of names, taking a short gasping breath between each one.

"They're behind us." I pointed at the group of soldiers running behind us, one holding onto Leonardo's arm. "Are we there yet?" I heard Pauline ask Leonardo.

"Almost," he replied gently. "Tracey's just right here." He stopped beside me and gestured for the others to do so as well. "Did you hear the, buzzing sound thing?" he attempted to describe the sound.

"Yeah," Minondass answered, hoisting himself out of my backpack onto Leonardo's shoulder. "Did you find out what it was?"

"Too soon," Annie replied. Sweat was dripping off her face from the strain of the flight from the city. "I was in the middle of watching the latest scout video and, it just stopped. The computer broke into little bits!"

"I was there to see it," Jack reinforced his sister's claim. "The zapping sound came from everything electrical and most of the computers in the city exploded like ours did. Even the cars lost all of their gasoline. The gas just disappeared; and the batteries, they're all burned to cinders inside the engines."

I thought over what Jack was saying. "So," I said, "there's a way for Alexander to control the electrical flow in stuff."

"Yeah," Lisa verified. "And how things are going, I'm guessing that the closer we get to Gaugamela, the faster it takes for electrical circuits to be overwhelmed."

"Consider the size of this area as well," Leonardo talked as we walked briskly along. "Assume that this power drain area is a circle. If it is, then we're at the edge of it, seeing that we were the first to experience this. As we go towards the center of the circle, which is Gaugamela, the smaller the chance our communication lines will stay connected. And, probably about five or six miles away from Gaugamela, when it counts the most, we'll be isolated and our lines will shut down altogether."

"So let's take advantage of the communication lines while they're still working," Minondass advised. "Let's's get to the monument."

Step. Step. Breathe in. Breathe out. The only things I did were run and breathe, no talking, no thinking, just moving. All we needed and wanted to do: get away from Alexandria. We, especially I, figured that Alexandria would be a safe house, seeing that Alexander still had a great love for it. But it would seem that his daimon just considered it as another place where he could control us remotely. _I just hoped that he would leave us alone, I agonized over this paradox. Alexandria is his favorite city in the world besides Pella and Pallet, and now, he's considering that the more closely linked the place is to him, the more he has to hate _it. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Pauline's voice. "Minondass, we're here. Sire. We're here. The army's here."

I shook Minondass out of his revery as we approached the monument. It was just like how he had described: square on the bottom, octagonal in the middle, cylindrical on the top. It was exotic, yet familiar, like a small skyscraper. If this is how the lighthouse is like for us when it's not full sized, it must have been a wondrous sight to behold when it was over 300 feet tall. Anyone who would have seen it would think that this city was made by, well, someone who was one of a kind. And they were right in a way. "How did the army get here and still stay in formation?" I asked Minondass.

"No idea," he pondered over it. "At least we didn't lose our new recruits."

"And they already have a position for themselves worked out: they're all together. Good," Lisa was relieved. "We didn't get anyone killed in flight. Now what will we do?"

"I'll tell the army what's happened."

"We know Sire!" The army, which had formed up in front of the group of us, now spoke as an even bigger group. "We know of, the draining, Sire. No need to waste time."

"I admire you for your ability to take in knowledge," Minondass responded graciously. "Then you must know as well as I do that the final battle will be at Gaugamela." The army fell still. "Most of you did not know this fact, but the scouts, the generals, and the Diadochi do. I will tell you what we know: Alexander is on his way to Gaugamela right now. He made it intentionally easy for my scouts to find him and I'm guessing that he is unworried of being found. He wants us to follow him! And, we will give him what he wants!"

"Why, Sire, would you think of such a thing?" a man in the Greek cavalry shouted. "You do not want to give in to the enemy, you want to fight him!"

"Very true," I reacted to his argument, knowing that just two weeks ago, I would have said the same. "But, just because we give in at the march, does not mean we give up at the field. I will put all of our forces into the final battle. I have some surprises that I have prearranged. You will find out what these things are very soon." And I called once again, "Group Teleport! To Gaugamela!"

I held a war council after the mid day meal on Monday. Sunday was just a marching day nothing more. It was unimportant compared to today. All the generals and my seers gathered in my tent. Our council was not very long. "How will we organize our forces?" Lisa asked me right off the bat. She was eager to get onto the field, and I knew that.

"We will take a page out of Alexander's book," I said. "Give me a diptych and I will show you what I have in mind."

GAUGAMELAN BATTLE PLAN. Front to rear, left to right.

Extreme Left Wing Odysseus's javelineers. half of the pokemon archers. Half of the trainer archers. Half of the Thracian darters. 500 light cavalry.

Left Wing Perminion's guards' brigade. Leonardo's pokemon phalanx infantry. Azelf's Macedonian cavalry. Darius's hoplite battalion.

Center May's pokeball slingers. Netosha and Crick's Alexandrite special infantry. Ptolemy's battalion. Perdiccas's battalion. Crateros's battalion. Kanis's battalion. Tracey's hoplite battalion. Tertwig's cavalry. Milotic's cavalry. Exeggcute's special cavalry. Espeon's special cavalry.

Right Wing My Royal Guard. The Diadochi. Ash's Companion cavalry. Hephaistion's Companion cavalry. Lisa's pokemon phalanx infantry. Athena's Macedonian cavalry. Achilles's hoplite infantry.

Extreme Right Wing Telemachus's javelineers. Half of the pokemon archers. Half of the trainer archers. Half of the Thracian darters. 500 light cavalry.

"What are the Alexandrites?" Netosha said exactly what I had wanted her to say.

"Netosha, Crick, I appoint you two to be the commanders of the Alexandrites. They are our Alexandrian infantry and they are some of our best. They will replace the two hundred we lost and they do so very nicely."

The two religious attendants of mine stared with wide eyes. "We are not worthy of this Sire," Netosha protested. "We have only fought in the phalanx. We may be two of your bodyguards, but on the field, we are common footmen."

"Netosha's right," Crick added. "We have not known you for very long. And plus, our vows do not allow us to take a command unless declared so by a fellow demigod."

I raised my eyebrows. "I am a demigod, a son of Zeus, am I not? I am a child of the most powerful Olympian. So, I have the right to make you commanders. And," I pointed at Athena, "she does too."

"My lady," they prostrated themselves before the divinity. Athena waved a hand dismissively. "You don't need to do that, though I respect the fact that you know the proper procedures. I allow you to serve under Minondass." and she blessed the two of them.

"Let's get out there!" I ordered the generals, and we exited the tent and went to our posts. This final battle, is the one that counts, for if we lose this one, Alexander will kill us all with ease. We were all thinking that, mainly myself. I was battling Alexander; no, Alexander. The Great. My generals and I control the army and the fate of us all.

I had brought my left wing back so the army was a trapezoid and first to the right wing and the center, then to the left, I commanded "Charge! For Pallet!"

"For Pallet!" was the war paean, and we fell on Alexander's wings. The second battle of Gaugamela had begun.

Crack. _Damn. My shield! Someone had thrown a javelin at my shield and it cracked down the middle. Even when they're coated in bronze, how can the hoplite shields break so easy? I gestured at my Master in Arms, a soldier named Adasanes and he handed me a new shield. He hadn't been wounded so far, strangely. It was like everyone was ignoring him. But I, I was getting slashed at every few seconds and a lot of the time, I had to fight multiple opponents. My sword had wedges in its edge from clashing edge on edge with other swordsman. "Give me a new sword," I told Adasanes.

He took a double bladed sword from out behind his back. It was painted green and blue on its blades and its hilt was silver. "Oh, Adds," I crooned, "You got me my favorite sword? I didn't think you would remember it!"

"Well I did," he said, parrying a scimitar and stabbing at his assailant. "How come I haven't been injured much yet, Tracey?"

"It's 'cause you have no symbol or anything on your armor or your weapons that identify you. I don't either but I'm getting ouch!" I yelped as a dagger slashed at my sword arm, my right arm. "Good thing I can fight with both hands. No one has figured out that my left hand is my dominant hand," I said slyly. "Come on. Let's get out in the front where the action is."

Adasanes and I ran past dueling pairs or groups of men and pokemon and I even saw that some of the best swordsman in Alexander's army were being sent to where we were. "Vaporeon, go!" I yelled. "Sharpen then Water Spout!" First, Vaporeon's attack stat was raised by twenty percent then it attacked with a water type move where the higher the user's health points, the more damage it caused. Since Vaporeon had one hundred and forty health points and considering that Alexander's pokemon only had less than half this, it caused a lot of damage to our opponents.

"Umbreon, Assurance!" Adasanes commanded. The dark type pokemon did a move that was doubled in power since the other pokemon had already been damaged in that turn. Several dozen enemy pokemon archers fainted and they got recalled into their pokeballs. We continued running, trying to find Minondass.

The battle continued like this for, for, hours. It was nonstop fighting and no one called the order to retreat and no one thought of doing so. However, we lost two hundred of our javelineers when they got trampled by the enemy Companions. But, I also noticed another thing: no gap opened up in anyone's battle line. Either because of their design or since the gaps closed up so fast.

And you know what else didn't make sense to me? That Alexander had let us get through his army so easily. No gaps had formed in his line, but the individual units of the army were spaced unnaturally far from each other. It seemed so illogical; even the phalanx wasn't tightly formed up. The purpose of the phalanx was to get tight and close and to move forward with no spaces, and yet, that was just what was occurring. The phalanx had broken apart a long time ago and now, there was cavalry mixed in there too. Basically, the foe's center and our center were fighting at half close quarters and half archer range, seeing that there were archers in our center. It was strange to me.

When it came to the cavalry on the flanks of the two armies, the same thing was going on: the enemy units were spaced far apart, we were getting in, and where there was a gap, there was brutal close quarters combat. The archers on the wings of Alexander's army and ours were firing volley after volley of darts and javelins and arrows and we were inflicting serious casualties on the foe. It was just like the cavalry except at long range.

It all just wasn't right to me. Why the hell would you do so bad at guarding yourself? The aim of having units close together was to prevent this and yet, we were slowly, man by man, breaking Alexander's seemingly invincible army into pieces with a force that had been together for only a week. There had to be a reason why Alexander was letting this happen. And I was correct; there was a reason.

"Phalanx, allied Greek infantry, pokemon infantry, allied Greek Cavalry, retreat!" Minondass boomed. "Retreat! Retreat and guard yourselves! Javelineers, archers, darters, slingers, light Macedonian cavalry, hoplites, Companions, stay! That's an order!" The men did as they were told, though they did reluctantly: Minondass could clearly tell that they all wanted to kill every last man on the adversary's side. They turned and overlapped shields with each other, whether their partner was part of the phalanx or not. No one went after the men who were falling back. No one. Why the hell is he doing this? We all knew that every man, on our side or not was wondering this. But then, we discovered why retreat was allowed. For words: let the force die.

Only about ten thousand of our forces were left on the field and the foe had about the same left. The same forces were left, too: archers, javelineers, light infantry and cavalry. As I watched, half of the remaining cavalry and infantry turned and ran. "Archers fire!" Jack, Annie, Evee, and Bidoof directed. Arrows reigned down like rain onto the backs of the retreating men. Many of them died after one or two arrows struck them. Everyone else followed, dropping their weapons, turning, and running without even guarding themselves. Why? How is this war? At last, we got a request from our combatant. He called, "Come now, Minondass! You might as well bring your force back too!"

I glanced at my generals; the men they commanded had retreated, but they had all stayed. They all nodded their acceptance. "All of you!" I shouted, "go back to camp. If we do not make it back,, make your leader's Master in Arms your commanders. I approve them all! I will fight this with my best generals alone! Ptolemy, Perminion, Perdiccas, Kanis, Odysseus, Telemachus, leave as well. You are too good for us to loose and besides, if I die, any of you will be able to take my place."

Then, I turned back to Alexander. "What do you propose? Will you take us as your prisoners?"

"You could say so," the Macedonian responded indirectly. "Actually, you have been in my clutches longer than you have realized. Did you notice that I had not laid anything down on the field, like spikes or snares?"

I nodded. "Yes. You were planning on killing us with just your forces?"

"No," he chuckled. "Call it two words: a cavern." and as he said this, the ground below us collapsed with a deafening crash.

We all, even I, screamed in terror, though I was not supposed to show fear. That was for only being in front of the men; these were the generals we were talking about. They didn't mind at all.

But we didn't just scream in fear, but what was going on: we were trapped in an underground cavern with only us and no back up, with Alexander. "See?" he told us. "Now, it's just us. Elektron!" Alexander's sword flashed into view and it pointed at me. "Bring it on. I am prepared."

"So are we!" Tracey yelled bravely. We formed up into a phalanx and we charged.

CHAPTER TWELVE NOTES: Some very sad things happen in this chapter. We're fighting during the whole thing, obviously. It's not switching between my perspective and Minondass's anymore, it's my turn to have the whole chapter. If you want to find out what kind of sad thing will happen, read on.

12: Take out, Bring On

Clang. The sword slammed into my own blade. I parried it and tried to land a blow, but it was swept aside with a flick of the tip of the other sword. Blue and green met silver.

"Come on Tracey!" Minondass yelled. "Go for the head! The head!"

I followed his advice and aimed an underhand cut for the jaw. Again, the sword was blocked by a much faster blade. It performed my own move and I felt the cold edge on my face. "Philotas this." I swore as I blocked another slash that was aimed at my eyes. "Is this the best you got?" I screamed, finally getting a successful stab under the shield and into the right shoulder, just below the collarbone.

Ichor, gold, shiny, gods' ichor, flowed from the wound and I withdrew my sword before the tip could melt. The blows came faster and faster, all at my head. "Thanks for the advice!" I blamed my commander.

"Who knew that you would both follow it?" he retorted. "Left!" He warned me as the enemy blade came under my shield like how I had and plunged its tip into my left shoulder. He had inflicted the same wound that I had on him again.

I never thought of this sword as, Alexander's blade during all this, just, the other blade. I was afraid to think the name, knowing that its holder was just a few feet away. "How did I get at your sword point?" I wondered as I deflected the said sword again.

"Because you initiated the fight. You might as well be the first to die." And as he said die, he stabbed the sword into the dented spot above my chest and at the bottom and center of my sternum with a crunch. Blood flowed down my breast plate and I realized then that seeing my own blood made my stomach turn. "Refresh," I said, recovering from the cut. "Bind!" I yelled and Alexander fell onto his back. He wouldn't be able to escape from the move. "Heal Block!" I added. Now he wouldn't be able to recover to full health for five turns. But he just complied and he didn't even bother to fight back, which wasn't like him.

However, when it came to the fighting back part, he had waited until the right time: he stood, still not able to move, and spun in circles. Rapid Spin. _Damn! Now, he was out of my Bind attack, but he still wouldn't be able to recover HP. Then, he raised a palm and pointed at the sky above. "Weather Ball!"

What does that do again? Oh, the attack's type would change with the weather. And, it was clear for now, so any move can be used.

But during my meditation I felt something against and ripping at my shield. He had used Thunder Wave and it caused paralysis immediately. I fell, unable to move as Alexander aimed his hand at me again. The attack Night Slash, a dark type move, hit me in the head and I fainted. I couldn't move and I couldn't see what was going on, but I could still hear what was happening around me.

"Tracey!" Minondass yelled. "Does anyone know how to heal her?"

"Get her to use Refresh!" Ash yelled from somewhere behind me. "But if she can't, get Exeggcute to use Aromatherapy." I felt the grass type move's affect on my body. My stats began to rise. "Andalexrae, Safeguard!" Azelf said. This would prevent us from having status conditions.

"You're not the only person who can do critical hit moves!" The dark type pokemon ran at its trainer and performed Night Slash too.

We all hoped that our enemy would fall again. But this time, he used Tackle on Andalexrae and he went flying back. "How the?" I muttered, feeling that I could move again. I stood up.

"Anger Point," Minondass explained. "Power raises if you get hit by a critical hit move. Shock Wave!" he retaliated with a move that wouldn't miss. So, the beam of electrical energy hit Alexander directly, but he stepped forward and used Block. "So," he said, smiling coldly, "fleeing isn't one of the things you can do, huh?"

"Cadabra Teleport!" Sebrina, though she didn't command a force, was well respected so she was included in the list of generals. Her Cadabra got Pikachu out of the Block attack. "Psybeam! Imprison!" The combination of the pokemon's and the trainer's attacks caused some significant damage: first confusion, then not being able to use moves that we already knew, which were a _damn lot of moves. Sebrina slammed into him and he lay on the ground face up again. "This is fun!" she shouted as she removed Alexander's cuirass and held it up in triumph. "Yes!" and with that, she teleported it back to camp.

Alexander stood once more. "What is it now?" I asked Darius.

"Limber, prevents paralysis. But Tracey, how the _hell can he have two abilities?"

"Maybe," Pauline said, "his ability changes to our moves. Call it Formation!"

"He's the only one who knows it and though we know that he knows it, we can't figure out which ability he'll use."

"_Shit!" Athena cussed. "It's my turn to cause some damage. Electrofoil!" A beam of energy shot from Athena's clenched hands and it hit dead center on Alexander's shield; he flinched as all his stats were lowered by forty percent.

"Counter!" was his reply. Athena yelped as he used the move that Azelf had discovered. He struck back with two times more power. "Feint Attack!" Athena fell to the ground just like how I had and Sebrina teleported her out of the cavern.

"How is this possible?" Minondass yelled in dismay.

"Hades if I know," I said, "but Ash, you get in there now!"

"Starapter, Aerial Ace then Wing Attack!" The two flying type moves caused more damage.

"Slash!" Starapter dodged the blow and used Peck repeatedly. Alexander received some head trauma from it. "Luster Purge!" Starapter's Special Defense was lowered by twenty percent.

"Aeroblast!" Ash yelled. A twister of air came flying at the Macedonian like, what it said, an arrow fired by high air pressure.

"Mist Ball! Double Team!" Mist ball lowered Starapter's Special Attack stat by twenty percent as well and Double Team raised Alexander's evasiveness. Now, there was a physical as well as an illusional Alexander. We couldn't tell which was which.

"Defog!" Annie negated the evasiveness-raising move with one that would lower it.

"Metal Sound!" Aaron contributed a move of his own. He hadn't been in the previous fights very much and now he got his chance.

Now with a Special Attack stat that was less than half, Alexander used Doom Desire. In two turns, Annie, Ash, and Aaron would get damage, but none of them knew that. "Starapter return. Frustration!" Ash lunged and ripped at Alexander's exposed ribs. Ichor fell down his chest and it touched Ash's hands. He yelled in shooting pain.

"Ash," Alexander smiled, "do you want to stay in this fight? You have known Minondass longer than anyone. I was planning on taking out his seer Aristander, but you will do. Cut Down!"

I saw Alexander sink his teeth into Ash's cuirass and shield, breaking a hole in them and then cutting into his flesh. Ash fell back, blood rushing from the gash.

My heart sank: we, especially Minondass and I, admired Ash for his courage, his brains, and even his naiveness sometimes. To see him get struck down like this made us dismayed and now, our chances of winning were dire. "Ash!" we all yelled and we rushed forward and looked him over. His gash wasn't large or bleeding very much, but he was rigid, like Meowth had been a month ago. His eyes were rolled back and the whites were showing. "Get me back to camp," he whispered. "Just know that you guys didn't have to suffer this. And, get Aaron and Pauline back to camp; I'm thinking they're not going to last very long here."

"Teleport," Sebrina said and the two people Ash requested to be taken off the battle field disappeared.

"Deeply weaken if not paralyze Alexander for me, will you?" he asked of us again.

"Sure," we said in unison, and Sebrina swept Ash off the battle field too.

Then, there was a moment of silence. Completely lacking sound and movement, the screams of fallen comrades, the flash of sword on sword. We were all aware of it, even Alexander was. Probably, some part of his daimon, still knew when to stop fighting.

I stared around at the cavern: the blood dripping off the combatants, the short breaths of our fighters, the distant calls of men from both camps. I wondered what our men thought now: Where is Minondass? He should be back. We don't want him to go without us there to see. Come back!

And as for Alexander's men: We are fighting against Team Rocket, but why do we have to fight such a worthy opponent? We should be with Minondass! But if Alexander dies, we will still grieve for him.

I thought about Ash's request; was it even possible? Could Alexander be beaten? Even when Alexander didn't know that he was a demigod back two thousand years ago, he was unbeaten in battle and in deeds. It still applied now: we had to recall more than three of our fighters and he was still unscathed. Could one person beat him? No. Could a pair do so? Maybe.

"Jack, Annie?" I cut through the silence. "Will you?"

"Sure!" Jack said. "It'll be just like pokemon battling, except harder. Helping Hand!" Annie's moves would be more powerful now. They stepped forward, shields overlapped, and they drew their swords. They slashed at the shield of Achilles together.

It was like my fight, but quicker and with two people instead of one. Using the lower part of his blade, Alexander blocked Jack's blade and stabbed at Annie. She parried it and wrapped her arm around the sword. She bent it back and cut Alexander's right arm. The sword came back and plunged through her breast plate and into her ribs. She fell at once.

Sebrina got Annie out of the cavern; but, Jack was alone. He slashed and stabbed, parried and even used his sword to cut the straps of Alexander's shield. The shield came off and it went flying out of the cavern through the opening that we had created.

He did it! I was rejoicing at Jack's success, but it was short-lived. Jack got a slash to his neck at his throat. None of us had been injured like that yet and now, Jack was the first. He dropped his blade and fell on his side. Alexander speared him through the neck and Jack was still like his sister.

"Oh by Philotas and his bad luck!" Athena was the one who was swearing nowadays. "How the _hell do we have such bad fortune?"

"It's not bad luck," I said, "it's just the fact that we don't have enough people! Now Darius is fighting and look!" I pointed at the Persian. Though he matched Alexander's speed, he didn't know as many blows. He got skewered in his arms and legs and now, his sword arm was quivering. He could barely fend off the lightning fast strikes of the Macedonian sword. His fate was just like mine: he got spiked in the bottom and center of his sternum. He was knocked to the ground just like our comrades and he was taken away from the vault.

It was now just Minondass, Leonardo, Lisa, Athena, Sebrina, Aria, and I. Oh, and Alexander.

"See how many of your partners are injured or dead? You should see what I will do to you now."

"We are prepared!" Minondass proclaimed. "Give us all you've got!"

Alexander smirked at the Theban. "If you wish, if you do not die first."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN NOTES: More people get wounded really bad or possibly die here. I was one of the few who didn't get another mortal wound. Good thing too or else I would be in the hospital while writing this book. Warning: To all pokemon lovers, trainers, and all pokemon; if you still can't believe and are disturbed by the affects of the moves Alexander has done so far, what he will do here will make you even more disturbed. But you shouldn't be surprised. Read on, if you want to see how we do and if we survive, for the chapter and for the rest of the story.

13: The Unmatched Move Set

Flash! Light illuminated the cavern as a wave of power slammed into all of us. Our swords went flying everywhere and we felt ourselves hit the wall. What was that? Was that even a move? It was Athena's definition of `a weak move.` It wasn't exactly weak, but it would do. We were against the wall and Alexander was on his head. He looked dazed, the first affect of any of our moves that we had seen had happened so randomly. "What the _hell was that?" I wondered.

"I call it Forget Pulse. Likely to cause confusion and the trainer's party receives one eighth of the damage taken. Not bad, huh?"

"Rand-" I was stopped by another move: this time, I felt my stats lower once more. "What is this move?" I asked the goddess.

"It drains more Hp the longer the amount of time you've been attacked. Now you'll barely feel it."

"Yeah," I said. "I feel like half my stats are gone. "Wish," I said. Now, I just had to hold out for one turn, which I really doubted.

For once, I wasn't the one who was getting used as a human punching bag: it was Leonardo's turn for that. "Magma Storm!" he attacked with a move that none of us could escape from: flames filled the cavern and I could feel it on my armor.

Alexander was in the midst of it and it looked like he was getting burned really bad. They covered him from head to toe. "Mimic!" Alexander used Leonardo's move and more fire filled the room. "Fire Spin!"

"I hate you!" was the Florentine's response. "Now I can't get out of here!"

"Wait!" Minondass intervened. "Evee, Baton Pass!"

"Mimic!" Now that Leonardo had used Evee's move, he could escape. "Guillotine!" He jumped over the fire and brought an arm down towards Alexander's head. He got a direct hit, but he just used his Formation ability with Anger Point and he used Surf. The flames extinguished and we got soaking wet.

"Psycho Cut!" Leonardo dodged the attack and used Lock On, assuring his next move would hit. But he just got struck with another psychick type move, Hypnosis. Leonardo dropped to the ground like so many people had before him.

Alexander stepped up to the prone figure, sword in hand, but Lisa came to his aid. She drew a dagger and stabbed the Macedonian in the left side of his sword arm, the first of us to do so. Alexander didn't seem to care; he was so busy with his prey. "Leonardo," he spoke over the sleeping body, "I still admire you for your courage, your brains, your will to fight. I hoped you would not be on Minondass's side, for you would have been in my Companions, the highest position in the army. You would have been my engineer, my best. You could have built me siege craft, new weapons, weapons that could be used against him." He pointed his sword at Minondass. "I will give you the chance to change sides, Leonardo. You could be a hero, you could be even more famous than you are now. So," he finished, turning Leonardo over on his back with his foot, "what do you say?"

The Florentine artist slowly opened his eyes and raised a hand, as if he would get Alexander to shake it in submission. He did so with his other hand and then he leapt rapidly to his feet, bringing his hands together and swinging his arms in an arc. Da Vise!

"For Florence!" was his war acclamation. The clear beams of energy raced towards Alexander, but they reflected off the move Protect. A Focus Punch was aimed at Leonardo and he sprawled again. "You want to serve Minondass? You should be brought down like him. Cut Down!" The move hit Leonardo in his sword arm, his left arm. He turned incapacitated like so many of our comrades had previously.

May, Misty, and Dawn, who had been unengaged for the whole of the fight, sprinted to pick up Leonardo. They brought him to Sebrina and he was brought back to camp. They drew their bows and fired again and again until their quivers were empty, but their arrows reflected off Protect too and they hit their archers, going through their light shields and into their arms and legs. Misty was the first to fall, bow clattering to the ground and toppling onto her back. Dawn and May reached for their swords and just like Jack and Annie before them, they disregarded their wounds and stabbed at Alexander's legs, aiming for the flesh right next to his greaves. The ichor melted the tips of the blades, so they directed the swords' edges up towards his neck, cutting the flesh on either side of his throat. But before they could get their daggers deeper into his flesh, there was a flash and a blast of energy knocked May and Dawn unconscious.

The blast was trained on us next; before we could react or put up a barrier, we all flew ten feet up into the air and crashed into the opposite wall. It happened. That blast of energy. What move is this?

As if to answer my question, Sebrina moaned, "Power Blast. Damages your whole party and halves their stats and power of their moves for the duration of the battle. Normal type move. It's only been talked about in legend, and I didn't think it was true. We're doomed."

"Where did you hear of it?" I asked, panic stricken.

"It was in a prophecy, as all of the news is around here. It said that whoever could use Power Blast could only be rivaled by a god. This prophecy was pronounced two thousand years ago by a trainer from Persepalus. They said that their city was destroyed by this move. I don't want to know what else is in his move set. But I guess I'll have to battle him. Without Cadabra."

"Role Play!" Now, Sebrina could copy Alexander's ability, but how would that work out? "Drain Glance!"

"That's the stat draining move!" I warned Sebrina. "Do you know any moves that increase your stats?"

"Sharpen! Harden! Charm! Captivate!" Now they were even, seeing that Alexander's Special Attack and normal Attack stats were lowered by forty percent each. But he didn't even bother using another attacking move, he ran in a zigzag pattern away from Sebrina. "What's that move?" I asked Athena once more.

"I'm guessing it's a move that raises speed. And by a _damn lot, too. His speed stat was low until now. I think it's doubled. Either that's Agility or something else. Call it Double It: doubles user's Speed. Sebrina, look out! Night Shade!" A beam of dark energy slammed into Sebrina's back and she stumbled, but she did not fall. She was a dark type, so she wasn't affected. "Miracle Eye! No immunity to psychic type moves, huh?" she taunted. "Speaking of Psychic type moves, Psy Wave!"

"Retaliation!" Alexander slammed his arms into Sebrina and she shuddered.

"Power doubles if user was hit first," Athena whispered. "I don't want to know what'll happen next."

But there was one more new move in Alexander's move set: "Shock Bolt!" he cried in Macedonian, but strangely, we could understand it. A sphere, then a long beam, of electrical energy crashed into Sebrina and it sizzled round her. She lay motionless, covered in electrical burns. How would we get our wounded back to camp now?

Minondass had been watching the battle, silent. And now, he whispered almost inaudibly, "Drain Glance. Cut Down. Double it. Retaliation. Shock Bolt. Power Blast. These six moves have cost us our generals!"

"Now, will you surrender? I have not even given you half of what I have got. Minondass, Tracey look at who is left." And so I did: Athena, Lisa, Aria, Minondass, and I were the only ones remaining. Four girls and one guy, but the gender ratio mattered none to us, it was just that there were five of us left. Out of the fifteen or more there were just two or three hours ago. But we had forgotten about one more person: the Gaugamelan Alexander, who was sitting on the edge of the cavern, twenty feet above us.

"Is it too late for me to come down from here?" he called.

We all stared in, fascination, and, confusion. "How the _hell did you get up there?" Athena asked in bewilderment.

"Well, I was the only one who didn't fall in. So, I waited here and I thought, I'm going to talk and show myself when they needed it. And so I have." He dropped from the top of the wall with ease and he landed lightly beside me. "Who knew that I would be needed so late in the battle?" he said, almost to himself. "I expected you to look for me when Ash went down. But I guess I was wrong."

He turned to his future self. "You might as well fulfill the prophecy. Us fighting is useless. And as much as we want to fight, almost all our forces are gone. You-" "Wait!" Aria yelled. She looked distressed. "I thought, when I found you, that you would never, ever, do this. I thought I would be able to meet someone who could comply with my needs and still be themselves. But, this reminds me of when-" She stopped, then began singing her sorrow, her regret.

"I remember years ago

Someone told me I should take

Caution when it comes to love,

I did, I did.

And you were strong and I was not

My illusion, my mistake,

I was careless I forgot

I did, and now,

All is done there is nothing to say,

You have gone now so effortlessly,

You have won you can go ahead tell them

Tell them all I know now,

Shout it from the rooftops,

Write it on the skyline,

All we had is gone now,

Tell them I was happy,

And my heart is broken,

All my scars are open,

Tell them what I hoped would be

Impossible."

We all knew the song and we all knew what it was about: about what happened if you thought you got the perfect person, and found out that something had gone wrong. Very wrong. That had happened to Aria: she had thought she had found her soul mate, the person she could rely on to always be at her side. She thought she had found a match made in heaven, or in our case,, a match made in Elysium; they had been through a lot of life or death situations together, and Aria had thought, just thought, that she had changed him for the better, that he had altered his personality entirely. She even had a feeling that Hades had allowed Alexander to come back so he could make a new name for himself. _I didn't impact him, just put another side of him to the front, aria thought despondently. He's still how he was before. All I've done, trying to change him, was for _nothing.

"Look," Aria said firmly, "I still admire you for, all you did and all you have done. You united the world with the Greek ideal, you spread Western civilization to Asia and Europe, therefore to America. You've brought the Olympians back to the limelight and you've ended all the misconceptions of Macedonia once and for all.

You have exploited parts of our friends' character that wouldn't have been exposed otherwise. You have exposed all of us to be excellent fighters in battle. You have shown us that Minondass, I mean Pikachu, is an excellent leader, that pokemon can fend for themselves and that they can unify other pokemon and trainers alike to form a cohesive, well trained, disciplined, fighting force.

However, you have also discovered all of the prophecies made about you: the Reign the Conqueror one, Sebrina's Persepalan one, and more. You've made much of our force die at your army's hands. You've critically injured our generals, you even possibly killed Leonardo da Vinci, who you admire almost as much as Achilles. How can I still respect you, even love you through all that?"

"You know how they say `love conquers all?"`

"Yes."

"Well, I am doing this for my love of unity. That is why I hate Team Rocket, they have disunited the people. Destroying them like this, that is part of getting the people united. Aria, I am doing this for you, so we will not have to mix our relationship with fighting. That is one good reason why I am doing this. I am guilty for having to kill so many of our best soldiers, I really am. However, I know that none of them match you when compared to you.

Aria, I am sorry for this happening to you, I thought you would not join the rebellion, that you would side with me. We all want to see Team Rocket destroyed, especially you and I.

The move I will do will ensure that all of the Team Rocket members will, leave us alone. They may die, yes, but think about what they do when they are not capturing innocent pokemon. Most of them are of good birth, but are criminals or specifically here in Iraq and Iran, members of the Talaban. In the United States and most of the world at large, we all want the war to end. I might as well do that for the soldiers who have had to leave their families to serve the country."

"Okay," Aria answered. "But, Alexander, how are you going to kill them?"

Alexander looked at her affectionately and smiled deceitfully at Athena, Lisa, Minondass, the Gaugamelan Alexander, and I. "Put any wound you wish on me once more, and I will show you."

"We will do it!" Minondass made known. "Aria, Tracey, Lisa, Athena, Alskander, charge!"

CHAPTER FOURTEEN NOTES: This is the second to last chapter with fighting. It's not really fighting, it's watching stuff get destroyed, actually. You'll see the affects of what happens here later in the next chapter.

14: Alexandros Killiteen

For the third time, our swords clashed with that of Alexander. But, we didn't have to do it for long. Minondass was the one to inflict the wound, the only wound needed. He aimed his sword at Alexander's face and he gave him a shallow cut across the cheekbone. Just like how he had when Bagoas saw him in The Persian Boy.

But we continued to clash, however. Crack! Slam! Whoosh. Air whooshed past the blades as they spun in the air like dancers of war: their only purpose was to cause pain, but that didn't mean that they had to. The hits were, for show, you could call it. We would do it until Alexander wanted to do, his Team Rocket destroying move. And this, too, didn't take very long to occur.

Alexander stopped parrying our blows and he began to rest more. He stood, sword pointing in front of him, eyes closed, as if he were in deep thought. We didn't interrupt these fits, no matter how much we wanted to. We knew what it meant: soon, he would want the move to be done. I wonder how long we'll have to have, this sham fight. When will we get to see the Team Rocket members' blood soak the ground where we stood? Evidently, that time was right now.

"Now," Alexander raised his voice, "how do you wish to see it: in the air or on the ground?"

"In the air, when you're charging, if you please," Minondass replied calmly. Although we, especially him, were all scared, we wanted to see what the move would look like and what it would do.

Alexander smiled a smile we saw when he talked to us about his battles, his `I'll tell you anything you want!` smile, his `Hurry let's get out there!` smile. I didn't think he would do it now, considering that his daimon was controlling him now. But, he did flash that brilliant smile once more. "It took, what, four or five days, to get enough energy for this move," he said, "but it seems that I waited too long, I have energy to spare. Probably by the time I'm done talking, I'll be ready."

"Wait!" I interrupted, "you're talking with-I mean-earlier, all day, you've been talking, like, with no apostrophes. And now, you're, you're, talking with them!"

"Well, the major fighting part is over. The serious part is pretty much done. Now," he smiled again; this time, his `watch now` smile, "you get a front row seat to what should have happened as soon as Team Rocket took over!"

Alexander raised his arms above his head and we rose along with him. We flew high into the sky, hundreds of feet over the cavern that we had been trapped in. The plain spread out below me: the expanse of rocky flatness, the wide river to one side, the hills opposite it. I could see both camps: the one of Alexander expectant and quiet, and ours... I could hear the yells, the yells of grief, the yells of dismay and dread and loss. "MINONDASS!" I heard the screams of alarm, "where are you! Is Alexander dead? Please tell us! Come back! Please!" My heart, Minondass's heart, our hearts, sank into the ground far below: my men! Our men! They're calling for me! They're calling for us! When will we see them again? "Army of Minondass, son of Zeus!" Alexander boomed from our position, hovering over our camp.

The men all looked up, not believing who they were seeing or hearing. "No! _Hell has come from, Hades!" a man from the Slingers yelled, not caring that his two words were the same. Similar cries of appall rang out.

Alexander silenced the man with a gesture of his hand. "I am not here to kill you, I swear! I am here, merely to show you what surrender means. It does not mean your destruction, no. It is your enemy's, our enemy's destruction."

"Isn't our enemy you?" an Archer asked.

"Yes, but not anymore. We have officially joined forces. But we will not fight. No, you will watch the downfall of the ones who have brought all of us together, Team Rocket!"

As Alexander shouted `Rocket!` he shot a beam of power into the air and then made it cascade down onto the crowd of men, like rain to show a god's power. "You will all come up here with your generals and me, and we will witness their ruination by me! So, who will come up with me!"

"Bring me!" a Greek cavalryman cried enthusiastically.

"Bring me up!" another person cried.

"And up there so will be I!" a third individual volunteered.

The cries became louder and louder until Alexander complied, raising the whole army into the sky. The enemy camp suddenly swarmed with life as the soldiers exited their tents and rose to join us. Now, about eighty thousand people were suspended in midair.

I could see Alexander's body begin to glow with power. "Do you know, or want to know, what my move is called?" Alexander said to us.

I yelled "Yes! Yes!" and the fighters agreed.

Alexander smiled a third time. This was his `I have a plan` smile. "I call it Alexandros Killiteen." We stared at the shining Macedonian conqueror in fascination and fear. "You will see it now, here. This move will destroy every building that Team Rocket has ever been in. The people will not die, just the buildings disintegrated. Since members are all over the world, this move's affects will be felt world-wide. Are you ready, to see the dawning of my new reign?"

The words `new reign` frightened me, but they were true. Alexander would be ruling, again. "Yes!" I began with the first call of approval. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" the yells continued.

"Okay then; Alexander chuckled, spreading his arms and legs wide, making a star-shape. And, shouting louder than I had ever heard him shout, louder than a plane's engine, louder than my ears should have been able to take, "ALEXANDROS KILLITEEN!"

Crash! I could hear the energy emit from him like a nuclear bomb blast just twenty feet away from me. I couldn't hear anymore, but I could still see. The energy was bright and shimmering like water with an electric charge in it. It came forth in waves, in quantities I didn't think one single person could make in such a short period of time and in such austere conditions. This sight amazed me and horrified me. I could see the energy waves radiate from Alexander and wash over the surrounding towns. Buildings crumbled like sand castles exposed to water. People stared up at us, but none of their faces showed fear. In fact they showed expectancy and some even whooped with happiness. "Long live Alexander!" they praised. "Long live Alexander! Down with Team Rocket!"

"See what I can do?" Alexander asked us. "I did not want to kill you, but Team Rocket. They will not die, but at least they will not have a place to go. No one would let them stay in their house or office building willingly. Now, let us go to Egypt." Alexander waved his hand and all eighty thousand of us disappeared.

This time, we were flying over, a familiar city: Alexandria! It looked, exactly like how we had left it, and the electricity was even back, cars zipping down the streets as crazily as they had before. _At least this place is the _same, I thought with relief.

But then, I looked down at the center of the city, where the two main streets intersected. I gasped: there was a statue of, Alexander, just like the one we had seen at the museum! It was on a pedestal that was three feet high and standing around the pedestal, as large as in life, there were representations of Minondass, Netosha, Crick, myself, Ash, Hephaistion, Darius, Odysseus and his son, and all eight of Alexander's pokemon. It was beautiful, not terrifying like how it was before. Now I knew how it was like to, to see this deity.

And I wasn't the only one who was staring: there were hundreds of hundreds of people congregated around the statue, praying. It looked like what Minondass told me what happened when he had seen the statue of Alexander at the Pallet town pokemon contest three months ago. People knelt, sat cross-legged, or prostrated themselves, lying facedown in reverence. Maybe we could come back here, after the war during the summer. It would be even hotter than it is now, but I don't care. Alexander, he would love it.

We teleported to Turkey next, which had formally been where the Greek-Asian cities were, like Ephesus and Troy. It was just like Alexandria: there were a couple buildings that had turned to rubble here and there, but nothing that would catch much attention. When will we get to see the real destruction? And we would see it very soon, right after we saw the rest of Europe.

We were looking down on Italy now, specifically Florence. From what I saw, only structures in the outskirts of the city were affected. But we didn't spend time being stationary over the metropolis, we were flying away from it, flying towards other cities like Venice and Rome. In Rome, about one fourth of the buildings were destroyed. People had gathered around Julius Caesar's tomb and someone held up a sign that said:

DOWN WITH JESSIE and JAMES, UP WITH ALEXANDER!

I smiled when I saw it: it was true. Rome had had a larger empire, but it took a hoard of officials to take care of it, not one person. Minondass waved to the people and the cheers redoubled. It was time to go to Alexander's home Macedon, and his first enemy's country which he still loved more than anything else in the world, (maybe besides Alexandria and Pallet), Greece.

We were over Athens now, and, and, half the city was in ruins. There were buildings that were turned to rubble everywhere and people marched in the streets, chanting paeans of joy and of outrage of what had just happened. We had been staring down at the city for a few minutes and no one had figured it out yet, that Alexander had done this. Until someone looked up and saw us. "Zeus _damn you!" they yelled. "Go to Hades for what you have done!"

"Soon," Alexander answered, "Team Rocket will go there, my friend. Consider this a small step in the process. But we must be going now." And so we did.

The next place we went to was Australia. We were looking down on Sidney, Australia's capital. It was like Rome, with about one fifth instead of one fourth of its buildings destroyed. And also like Rome, people had gathered around the city's most famous landmark, the Opera House, which so many people went to see. Crowds of every ethnicity lined the streets surrounding it and people were waving flags and holding signs like the sign we had seen in Rome. As we glanced down at the people a little more, they began cheering, with slogans like, "Team Rocket's Persepalan!"

We had a brief look at Panama, with almost no signs of the attack's affects at all. Rheo was still thriving, with people running around in the streets, like usual. People still played volleyball on the beaches and life was normal.

The last place we would go to before going, wherever Alexander saw fit, was Iraq and Iran.

"Now," Alexander spoke to us, the first time we had heard him speak in the four hours we had been teleporting around the world, "see what I have made of the war zone!" I looked down, and I caught my breath; Baghdad was, completely destroyed.

No building within a fifty mile radius, if not more, around Baghdad was standing. And as far as I could see, there were piles of disintegrated concrete and stone and splintered wood. But, I saw no people. It was a ghost town, or if you could call it, a ghost country. It looked like everyone had either died or, left? Where the _hell could they have gone? You're talking about hundreds of thousands of people, gone!

"You may be wondering, where I will take you now," Alexander said. "I am taking you back to Pallet. Time to go home."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN NOTES: We're finally back in Pallet, after eight chapters of traveling and fighting. However, there are still fighting parts. And finally, we see a Team Rocket route! At last! But will Calesthenes be brought to justice at last? Read on to find out!

15: Return and Massacre

Complete. That was what I thought when I saw Pallet Town. Complete! We had come full circle, we were back to where it had all began. No buildings were in ruins, no fires blazed, no protesters were on any of the streets, chanting. Seeing that we had been traveling all day, twilight was setting in. The sun was setting, and the street lights were flickering on all across the city.

But, there were no cars driving through its streets, no people walking or eating or training in the park. Only the lights remained, showing that there were still inhabitants somewhere. It looked like this when I looked at the industrial and work districts around town, silent and abandoned.

But then I looked at the residential areas and I was surprised. They were still how they usually were, light in the windows, probably from people cooking dinner. I could see a person's TV go on in a living room on the east side of town. But, as I scanned farther and farther south, I saw less and less signs of life. Less lights were on in the southern part of town, where the Hellenic League members all lived. This sight, however, wasn't the one that shocked, no, frightened me; it was Sorulian Street, where Ash, Alexander, and I lived.

The street lights on our street were turned off. Cars weren't in the driveways, they were in the parking lot at the end of the street that we all shared. I saw no one outdoors, not even at Professor Oak's lab, where pokemon always frolicked around his place. But the lack of lights, that was what frightened me; no street lights were on, no lights shone in the windows, and actually, all the windows had their shudders closed. The peepholes on the doors were covered with black paper from the outside, and I guessed it was like this on the inside too.

How did Pallet become like this? Our street... it's so lively most of the time, and now... the black paper? What's that for. Then I knew. Wait, black's the color of, mourning. Who are they mourning?

Then I figured it out: the residents on our street were mourning Minondass, mourning Pauline, mourning me. They all thought we had perished, trying to stop the prophecy. They didn't know that the prophecy wouldn't destroy Pallet, but they were prepared for it.

Most of all, they were mourning, Alexander. Virtually everyone in town knew him, by sight and by actually talking to him and he was always involved in what happened around here. He knew the mayor and the police chief personally, so he knew about all the kinds of technology they used.

However, out of all the things I knew the residents were grieving for was the fact that he had given himself to his daimon. Everybody was aware of its presence but they didn't know what it could do. They all thought, that, he was so harmless, that he couldn't be, so, destructive. But they were all proved wrong: he had given to his daimon, he had chosen to fulfill this prophecy that was so devastating that no one even knew what it would do. We all wanted the old, devious, a little too proud of his accomplishments Alexander that we had grown to be led by, and loved so much. We wanted him to turn back into this person, now. I wanted this and we all wanted this; however, we would have to wait a little longer. Why, you might ask? Well, I saw a red-haired man come out from behind a car. His gun was drawn and pointed up at Alexander. He had an expectant smile on his face. And I registered immediately, by Alexander's expression of hatred and rage, who it was and we all figured it out too. Calesthenes.

I felt myself lower down to the ground and Alexander motioned to all of our men and they all left. The generals were the only ones who stayed. The armys' soldiers filed away from the city, going farther south into the forest. Here comes the killing part. "Oh, Alexander," Calesthenes sneered. "I didn't think you would come so late. It's not like you to do-"

Before Calesthenes could finish his sentence, his gun broke apart in his hands. Alexander was on top of him, his sword at his neck, it as well as his whole body, glowed blue with power again. "I could kill you quick now," he snarled, "but I want to hear how you came here."

"Well," the historian wasn't at all afraid of the sword at his throat and he sighed, "Team Rocket managed to find a person with most of, but not all of, my DNA. They took this person and they put the memories of what happened back in the day into them. I am very fortunate that they didn't mess up and try to make me multiple times. It would have taken too long and besides, you would have wondered if Kleitis had had a companion."

"How did you get Kleitis?"

"Oh, much how like they got me back. The Team Rocket lab guys had left us in Snowpoint City and Jessie and James and Meowth found us both there. They knew that we had a lot of potential as two of their recruits, so they took us in. We found out about you from them. And that was how I got into all this.

As for the prophecy? I watched the first six episodes as you did and so did the original trio. They did not mention it directly, but they did slip it somehow to Sebrina and your friends. So, I merely took advantage of it and Jessie, James, and Meowth waited here until they heard of you fulfilling the prophecy. I knew that you would want to return, and that you would return, so I waited here as well."

"And so did we!" three voices shouted in agreement. Jessie, James, and Meowth got out of the white car that Leonardo had saw just a week before, and the one that Calesthenes had hid behind. "Time to facilitate your surrender! Or death!" Meowth said and he pulled a grenade launcher from behind his back. He looked fine, for his leg had healed enough for him to stand and carry heavy loads.

The grenade flew at Alexander. "Duck!" I yelled, but he simply, put up his shield. Somehow, he'd gotten it back. Or maybe it had been there the whole time, it was just that I hadn't seen it until now. The grenade reflected off its smooth silver surface and it hit the car that the four had been hiding behind. It exploded into a ball of fire, but it was, strangely, put out at once.

"What will happen now?" James said, mockingly. "It's not like the energy will _shit!" he yelled. A wave of energy streamed from Alexander's sword and it slammed into the four of them. They went flying over the wreckage of the car and into a wall with so much force that it crumbled. The path they had flown over had been gouged into the concrete. "Thank the gods he's doing that! And not to us!" Minondass said in amazement. "Good luck TR."

"Come on out everyone!" Jessie called, sending out Arbock, Siviper, and Dustox, a bug and poison type pokemon. "Poison tail! Wrap! Poison Sting!" The trio of attacks hit Alexander directly, but using the ability Formation with Poison Heal, he had fully healed though he had been poisoned. He grabbed Siviper and Arbock and they shuddered: Rough Skin, another ability, caused damage on contact. He used Retaliation and the three pokemon fainted at once.

"Cacnea, go!" James said next.

"Pinsir, you too!" Darius stepped forward and sent out his own pokemon. "Pin Missile!" Spikes reigned down on James's Cacnea and it got several stab wounds from them. "Needle Arm!" Cacnea's spike-covered arm came at Pinsir, but it jumped over the move and used Fury Cutter. Each blow increased in power as it hit Cacnea in the head. "Finish it with Signal Beam!" Darius said and a beam of green energy smashed into Cacnea and it collapsed like its three comrades.

"Use it on those trainers as well!" The beam came around and hit Jessie and James and as they flew up into the sky, they screamed, "looks like we're never coming-" but they were stopped when they slammed into the pavement. Their backs snapped with the force and they lay still.

"You forgot about me!" Meowth teased. "Taunt!" When did Meowth learn that? He only knows Fury Swipes and Scratch! But the attack did what it was supposed to do: Alexander froze as he figured out what Taunt did. He lunged at Meowth and I could tell he was trying to raise his stats with Double It, but he couldn't. He screamed in frustration and every window in town shattered. Then, he decided to go along with what Meowth did and he used Shock Bolt. Meowth fell onto his back and he could barely keep up the attack. "Want to stay moving?" Alexander said unusually calm, leaning over the pokemon. "but too bad. You will not get this chance. Two more hits with Cut Down will kill you."

"Scratch!" Meowth responded and he put some scratches on Alexander's bare face.

"Fine!" he yelled. "Don't want to take my offer of surrender? Here's the price for it!" He lunged at Meowth again, out of Taunt seeing that Meowth was so weak, and he tore at Meowth's head. He inflicted two gashes to his neck and at last, the normal type pokemon went limp and would never rise again.

I looked at the battle field: Jessie and James had suffered from Darius's Signal Beam and Meowth was cut down, literally. Now, Calesthenes was left to live or to die.

"I will give you an offer," Calesthenes posed. Alexander stared at him with a burning intensity in his eyes. "What offer?"

"All you need to do is to exit from the Hellenic League. You will join us and we will elect you to become our leader. You can even reform us and make our organization a good one instead of bad.

Or, you can stay like this and possibly kill your friends. They will only die if you request that they need to. They can join us if they please.

So, what Alexander. What will you choose?"

Oh no, not this. Anything but this. Philotas him! In his state, Alexander won't choose what's right and he knows that. He knows he wants to fulfill the prophecy and wants to have power. But he also knows that he might want to keep us alive and that we're useful too. We would never go with him. What will he choose: us or him?

And, I got the answer I wished: sword point for Calesthenes. "I would never! Ever! Join you! You are unworthy of me! You could and would never follow my orders! So," he said more quietly and boldly and creepily, "I will go with them." He pointed with his right hand at Minondass, Leonardo, Darius, and all of us. "Calesthenes, prepare to die."

The only thing I saw was the flurry of movement. First, the flash of the zigzag in Double it, then Retaliation as Calesthenes was made unable to flee, Drain Glance which lowered his stats. But, the last three attacks I saw: first, Power Blast directed in one wave of energy at that small spot on the pavement. Calesthenes shook as it hit him and though the energy was only pointed at him, the surrounding concrete began to crack and finally, fall apart. Nevertheless, Alexander was just getting started: the two most powerful attacks of all came last.

Shock Bolt: a ball, then a beam, of energy from Alexander split Calesthenes's armor down the middle and it splintered the bones in his legs and arms. He shuddered with the pain as his remaining muscles, his torso muscles, strained against the paralysis. But at last, came Cut Down. Alexander thrust himself at the Greek historian and they tumbled onto the broken street together. Calesthenes took a dagger and stabbed Alexander in the throat, but this made no affect, only made him angrier. I saw the Macedonian go for his neck and at last, the bite at the breast bone, like Ash, but with no armor there to provide some vain protection. Calesthenes writhed on the ground as he felt the pain of the blow and that of being finally defeated, and he at last, like so many had in the past week, fell still.

"He," Pauline whispered in disbelief; though she didn't see what happened, she knew what the sounds meant. "killed them. Team Rocket's gone. Without their leaders, they'll just turn themselves-" "Actually," I said, "no. There are planes flying over Pallet! Like, thousands of them!"

"There are one million TR members up there!" Aria yelled. "I know that, since there are eighty groups of one hundred planes, one group per street! And, there are twenty rows of five guns on each plane, pointed down at, yours truly."

Pewsk! Blam! Bullets reigned down on us and we lay on the ground, trying not to get hit. But one person didn't want to, nay, need to, do so; Alexander stood and he raised his shield and every single one of the millions of bullets reflected off and they cut into the metal of the planes. Some even went through the windows and I heard a couple hundred screams of pain. A man directed a grenade launcher at Alexander, but it shattered in his hands, the grenade blowing up the plane.

Man after man pointed rifles, handguns, more grenade launchers, at the tall Macedonian and every time, their bullets and their grenades deflected off the shield of Achilles. And every single grenade hit the plane it came from, and, slowly, one group of one hundred twenty five at a time, Alexander was defeating an army of one million with just his shield. Then, a man actually tried a new tactic, he flew the plane towards the air space above the street and the other planes did the same. They were hoping that if Alexander would reflect their weapons again, the debris would fall on top of us. And I thought this would happen too, as I lay on the ground, listening.

But, the exact opposite occurred: he didn't bother to put up his shield; but the ammunition kept coming. Alexander stood up to his full six foot ten height and he raised his arms up, hands pointing at the reduced fleet of planes. Only half of them were left now, but how would he take out all of them? And I got my answer.

"Double It! Drain Glance! Retaliation! Cut Down! Shock Bolt! Power Blast!" All six moves flew up at the planes and they began melting with the huge amounts of power. More desperate bullets came at the unprotected Macedonian, but he didn't care. Oh _shit. He's going to do it, to the planes, and we're going to die! Please, just to the planes please! And he did.

"Alexandros Killiteen!" I heard the explosion, saw the flash of light, even from lying on the ground. But, I could also feel the energy. It ripped at my remaining armor and it flew off of me as the straps tore. Alexander's destructive energy flowed from him for the second time, but like the other time, we weren't the target; no, it was the planes this time. The aircraft crashed into each other as their navigational instruments, then their engines failed. Tens of hundreds of them fell from the sky and hit the concrete with a smash, metal flying in all directions and their passengers getting crushed by the weight. Each one got this fate: failure, fall, smash. It was amazing, but grewsome, as the Team Rocket bodies got turned to pulp.

He didn't seem to be phased by any of the carnage. On the contrary, I could hear Alexander laughing. A kind of, love of violent mastery, kind of laugh, as if he was enjoying the sight of his plan coming into fruition. It reminded me of what happened before the battle of Gaugamela, Alexander being satisfied with what Darius had done and no one else knew what he was content with until it was over. And I did too: he did this as a show of strength, to show what would happen if anyone else opposed him.

But just as quickly as it started, the flow of energy, the laughter, it stopped. It was silent; no smashing of metal, no sound of mens' screams of agony. It simply went silent. "I think it's safe to stand," I murmured. "The sounds have stopped."

We stood gingerly, careful not to step on the pieces of broken aircraft that were strewn everywhere. But there was one body lying in the street, eyes rolled back, pallid, weak, and heart barely beating. It was not a Team Rocket member, for their bodies were all covered in blood and wounds and shrapnel. No, this body was of, of...

"Alexander!" we yelled in unison. "Why would the gods be like this? Why Fates why!"

"We need to get him to a place where he can recover," I said frantically.

"Aristotle!" Pauline said. "He did the original upgrade, get him to do it again!"

"All we have to do," said Netosha, who had walked out from the forest and was standing beside me, "is to find him."

"And," added Crick, "get him to do the upgrade again. But not as an upgrade, but for revival."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN NOTES: We get a lot of things resolved here. Not much else to say. But, if you didn't read the chapter notes of any of the previous chapters and you only read this one, you'll find out what happened previously here.

16: Love, War, Reformation

"How will we find that guy!" Netosha said. "This place is huge!"

"Besides, there aren't enough of us!" Odysseus pointed out.

"And if we do have enough people, I'm betting that electricity's been affected. Cell phones and radios will be useless. How will we find him?" Telemachus, who almost never spoke, did now.

A slow smile crept across Minondass's face. "How about," he said, "the Diadochi?"

As soon as he said Diadochi, twenty seven figures in armor and one with their head wrapped in a bandage came to our aid. They had been waiting in one of the few cars that hadn't blown up. "What you need?" the man with a bandage around his head said. "Oh, you might ask, `How did I get this?` I got it from a stray bullet. It's out now, but the scar's still there."

"Geeskander," Minondass said, "can you find Aristotle? We need to-" he pointed at the figure on the ground.

He nodded. "Oh, he's right here! Arrotle!" he yelled, "come on! To Professor Oak's lab!"

A gray-eyed man approached them with a heavy pack on his back. "Do we have to, do this again?" he panted.

"Pretty much," Pauline said. "Let's get over there! I don't know how long Alexander will be, alive, or, like this. Let's just hope it's still standing."

We headed down the block to Professor Oak's lab. Its door was blown off its hinges from the impact of the attack Alexander had used. We rushed in and we found the professor's bed. "Sevander, can you find Samuel?"

"Sure. Professor Oak!" the seven year old shouted. "Where are you?"

The tall, short-bearded man came running in from outside, dripping with sweat. "What is it?"

"Alexander's, ill? No, weak. Terribly weak. From what he did, his move-" "Alexandros Killiteen?" the professor said.

"Yes. But how did you know?"

"I heard the yell. And the explosion. And the crashing planes. Is he weak from the move?"

"Yes!" A7 said urgently. "Lay him down!"

We lifted Alexander's still form onto the bed and Aristotle lifted off his pack. There was a monitor, metal bands, and a generator in it. He plugged the monitor into the wall socket and the largest band to the monitor. We fastened the largest band around Alexander's neck. We connected up the rest of the bands to his arms, legs, and torso. "Now what do we do?" I asked.

"You just let Aristotle recite a spell; that'll put the energy from the generator into him. It doesn't need to be connected up to anywhere, it just has to be there!" Telemachus told me quickly.

"I'll provide the spell!" Aristotle said. "Repeat after me." And so we did.

"Oh Alexander

spawn of philip

and of Zeus

you have received more power

than you could ever imagine

yes, it is your sword

yes it is your shield

yes it is your mind

but the only one that matters?

is your Greek.

You have used it against us

but now it will save us

speak it and we will rejoice;

to heal your wound will we use pokemon moves?

will we use normal spells?

no, we will use Greek.

Most of us do not know

how it is like to live in Pella

but being there to command has made our leader

Minondass who he is today;

but how did he get there?

how did we fight?

it was because of your Greek.

Our best men died you see

they sacrifice their lives

to ensure that the prophecy would not endanger

those not involved;

however, they also died

to be recorded in the passage of history

as those in the first

pokemon commanded army;

did we fight for the United States?

did we fight for pokemon?

was this army's origin of ours?

no, its origin is Greek.

What you have done with all this power?

you have killed our own

but you have defeated the long ruling antagonists

those who are against legal training of pokemon

Team Rocket and Calesthenes Oraudis;

they do not respect

the rights of pokemon

that they are citizens of this nation

that they deserve position in an office

a quick and easy trial

punishment suited to their actions;

rights to their lives

rights to have a legal trainer

and rights to have property

and the right of free speech;

where have these ideas come?

from England, yes

from France, yes

democracy rule by trainers and pokemon

that is Greek.

We have spelled out what pokemon can do

now we will say

what is needed of you

you must save yourself

for we are not worthy

and as we do not have the power;

this power for war

will now heal the chief commander

the one who has led us

since hearing your feared loved name;

regain your powers

Alexander!

Rise once again

like you did before Aristotle

Alexander!

show us your presence

Alexander!

Use your Greek!

At once, the iron bands around the limp body began to arc with electricity. The monitor, which showed Alexander's heart rate, slowly began to rise. The sheets over the body shifted ever so slightly. What the _hell is going on? I knew Aristotle, Geeskander, Minondass, and I were all thinking this. And we soon found out.

Snap! The first band, around Alexander's left ankle, broke in two and flew off onto the floor. Snap! The second ankle band came free like its pair. Crack! The restraints around the knees came undone as well. Band after band detached themselves from the body they were supposed to keep still.

Like the lower half of his body, the arms soon came free. Lifting a hand, Alexander waved at Aristotle weakly, before his hand dropped down to the bed again. Aristotle's gray eyes shone with, surprise? The love of being recognized? I didn't know. But all of us, especially Minondass and I, were hopeful. Any movement done by him, anything like this at all, meant the spell worked to some extent. And we were about to see a lot more.

"Triana! Cam! Carn!" Sevander said. "You missed the spell."

"Wait! What happened? Is he dead? Is he responding to ohwwww! Okay you hit me in the face with a pokeball? This is no time for hurting me!"

"Not me," Sevander said innocently. "Geeskander?"

"I'm not that desperate," he said coolly.

"You haven't figured it out have you?" a voice sounded, surprised and sarcastic. We looked around the room: everyone's mouths were shut. Except for that of the person lying on the bed, who had sat up and was staring at us with, astonishment and the `I swear, I've been here before!` look. I knew who had hit Carn. And who had spoken.

"Alexander!" we shouted in delight. "You're alive!"

"Well," he said, smiling and standing. "At least I can't be blamed for killing you guys, huh?"

"Well," Carn turned sober, "we discovered that Jack and Annie. As soon as they came back to camp, they, requested to come here. They weren't affected by, you know what, but they were at the hospital, they, didn't make it."

I saw Alexander stare at Carn, unconvinced. "Jack and Annie, they can't be, gone."

"Well, their wounds weren't life threatening, but they told the doctors to leave them alone. They wanted to see Hermes unaided."

"I've, I've never heard of something like this. To die of not fatal wounds. And to die so willingly. They were so young. But, have you burned their shrouds, yet?"

"No," Cam replied. "They're in the center of town. Their shrouds are already near where the fire is supposed to be. All we have to do is light them. Come on." And he led us out of the room.

Jack and Annie lay side by side, both of them together on the same burial shroud. It was black and white, with a pattern of the globe, marked with the places where they had gone. It was the world on a light and dark background. Their eyes were closed and their weapons lay at their sides. "Netosha! Crick! Aristander!" Minondass called. "Come forward!"

"Aristander? Is he here?" Alexander asked one of those strange questions that only he could ask.

"No," I laughed, "it's me. Minondass is calling me that as I am his seer. Also, he thinks that I'm a part of his bloodline."

"Makes sense, with your accurate ability to see the future," Crick pointed out.

"Who are Netosha and Crick?" Alexander inquired.

"Netosha and Crick are two servants to Athena we met at Troy."

"You went there?" the Macedonian asked again.

"Yeah. Minondass got his armor from there, just like you."

"Are you going to burn this shroud, or will I?"

"We will both do it," Minondass answered. "Netosha, Crick, send out your pokemon!"

"Torchic!" "Lileep!" "Sacred Fire!" "Mimic!" Flames, for the second time engulfed the corpses. But they weren't of hundreds of common soldiers; they were of two very brave and young fighters. I stared, sadly, as the bodies turned back to what Persepalus had been: ashes.

It only took a minute and before I knew it, it was finished. Just a pile of cremains, the cremated bodies, were left sitting on the funeral pyre. Netosha, Crick, Minondass, Alexander, and I came forward and lifted the ashes into a cedar coffin. Alexander placed this coffin in a larger one, made of solid gold. On the lid, it said:

HERE LIE TWO OF THE YOUNGEST HELLENIC LEAGUE FIGHTERS. THEY HAVE GIVEN THEMSELVES IN ORDER, IN THEIR MINDS, TO END THE _HELLANDRIC WAR. THEY WILL BE HONORED BY ALL MEMBERS, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.

"What is the _Hellandric War?" I asked.

"Our war," Minondass explained. "_Hellandric combines Hellenic and Alexander into one word. Just like they kind of did the Peloponnesian War. When you have a war, you name it after who's involved, like what we did or after where its major battle was fought."

"Ash would love to know why the name is so weird," Professor Oak said. He had followed behind us almost silently. He wanted to be out of the way. "Speaking of Ash, where is he?"

Netosha became sullen. "He's, at the hospital, specifically in the Trainer Rehabilitation Center. Cut Down paralyzed his arms, both of his legs, and everything but his neck. Come on. I can show you."

We headed west to where the police station, fire department, and hospital were located. They were all on the same street so it wouldn't take a long time for a patient to get treatment. I headed into the lobby of the hospital and walked up to the front desk. "Can I see Ash Ketchum please?"

The nurse, who was not Nurse Joy, nodded. "Come on down, then. He's on this floor. Down the hall to the end, to the left."

We did as she had said and we entered the ward. Ash was alone except for a second man in the bed at the other side of the room. Ash was lying on his back, a thin white sheet over him. His chest was wrapped in bandages and his eyes were closed. However, his breathing was regular and I was relieved that he wasn't on life support. I pulled up a chair, sat beside Ash, and touched him on his right arm. He stirred, then, he opened his eyes and sighed at seeing my face. "Tracey!" he said in reassurance. "Your blue eyes stayed that way, huh? Not injured, as far as I can see?"

"Kind of weird you're saying that when, you're, you know," I replied sadly. "How are you feeling."

Ash sat up and held my arm for support. "There's some pain in my chest, but nothing normal pain medications can't alleviate. But, even though it doesn't hurt very much, I can't move my arms. Every time I try to bend my elbow-" he showed me, "it won't do it. It doesn't cause me pain when I do it but, it's annoying. I tried to move my wrist, my shoulder, and the joints in my fingers earlier too. The same thing happened."

"How about your legs?" Samuel wondered. "Can you move them?"

"Well," he thought for a moment, "I could move my ankle joints, my toes, and my knees. But, the, big ball and socket joint, the hip, that's immobile. Everything else followed not too far afterward. I was able to walk to this room myself, but I could only move my lower legs. To walk, I swing my knees forward, one leg at a time. Like this." Leaning on my arm, Ash stood up unsteadily and tried to show us how he managed walking. I was glad he could have walked at all. But walking without the use of his hips must have been hard for him. "It was almost impossible to do any of this without my hips, as even when walking like this, you need the joint. I actually had to half knee-swing, half hop on crutches to get here."

I helped Ash lie on the floor and I tried to comfort him. "Think about it this way: at least you don't have an arrow in your shin!"

"Where did you get that from?" he said at first, then figured it out. "Oh! Alexander and that shin thing! That had to hurt! Permanent dent in his shin for life!"

"Hey!" Alexander said defensively. "I got used to the fact that my legs weren't the same! At least yours look the same!"

We all cracked up. "I'm surprised that you're even back to normal!" Ash was genuinely surprised and relieved like how I had been just recently. "We're still alive! And you don't want to kill us."

"I wasn't in my right mind then. And some people still think I'm not in `any right mind! Like Aaron!" Alexander perked up at once when he remembered the historian. "Do you know where he is?"

"Uh," Ash brightened as well. "He's okay, but he's back at City Hall, back at his job. He's trying to reestablish cell phone service around here."

"How long will you be here?" Pauline asked.

Ash turned sad. "Until the end of the summer at the best. At the worst, until the middle of the autumn."

"Who's the other guy?" I asked.

Ash sighed. "Just one of the members of the Diadochi that died," he said. "It's A8. Hermes already took him along with A9, A11, A14 through 17, A19, A21, A25, A27, A28, and A30 through A32."

Alexander gawked at Ash. "How did, they?"

"Well," Ash said, "they said that it was their destiny to come back to help you, but they also said that not all of them would live through it. Only the ones who made a big impact would live. As for how it happened, it was because they were weak."

"Can I see him, please?"

Ash slid on his back over to the bed and took the sheet off of it. A8 was lying on his back like Ash, but unlike Ash, I didn't see him breathing. His eyes were closed and he was wrapped in a blue shroud. His hands were folded across his chest and from below them, I saw the gash just below his heart. It was small, only about an inch long and less than a quarter of an inch in width, but it was deep. I could have stuck my thumb into that gash and that wouldn't even be half its depth. The arrow that had inflicted the wound lay at the eight year old's side in his hand.

I took a gold coin out of my pocket and placed it under the boy's tongue. The Greeks always buried their dead with a coin to pay Charon, the ferryman who brought the dead from our world to Hades. Alexander had given several of these gold coins to me back in April, `just in case.` I was glad he had done so, for we would have to do this to about twelve more people.

With Ash on our heels, we went up to the next floor, which was marked Not Life-Threatening, Needing Operation. We went from ward to ward, finding the bodies of the Diadochi and placing my gold coins in their mouths. After doing the last one, we took all of them and we placed them in a giant coffin together. "Wait," I said. "Can't we embalm them?"

"Sure," Minondass said. "There's a guy who does that across town. I'll give them to him tomorrow. Tuesday."

"Minondass," Pauline said, "it's already tomorrow. It is Tuesday! We've been up all night. Also, didn't they say that the prophecy would be fulfilled on Tuesday?"

"Yeah. But the Alexandros Killiteen thing happened yesterday."

"Maybe we'll hear the results today."

"Here it from where?" Netosha asked.

"We'll have to wait," Alexander said. "But, we have to get the whole of the Hellenic League together. We meet in the center of town."

Later that afternoon, we went to the center of town and William Alphis was waiting for us. The whole town was gathered there, but Mr. Alphis told us not to show ourselves yet, only when he told us to. And so I heard him give his briefing to the whole of Pallet Town.

"Residents of Pallet Town! Hellenic League army members! On Monday May 17, 2010, a prophecy, foretold 11 years ago by the author Herosha Arimata, who wrote Reign the Conqueror, was fulfilled. This book was the basis for the anime of the same name. Some of our citizens and all of the Hellenic League, managed to find out about this anime and they have watched it.

However, this anime may seem fake and it could never be real in any way, but alas, you are naive. Alexander has fulfilled this prophecy." I heard mutters of uncertainty and from some, dismay. It was just like Alexandria, but these people, they all knew us. They had all seen us at one time or another, especially Alexander. They all thought, like how I had, that he wouldn't give in to temptations of power so easily. But, they had been wrong; they hadn't fought him, they hadn't seen men die for real and not just on war TV shows, they didn't fight in the _Hellandric War. Only we had, and only we knew the truth. The mayor was trying to tell the truth to the people.

He continued. "Alexander, as you know or not, is extremely benevolent most of the time. He is easy to talk to and he makes friends very easily. That even I got into his circle of friends amazed me, for I am not of such a high status as him.

Having said that, there is also a side of Alexander that only a, I should say, unlucky few, have seen; his exhausted good temper side, the side that burned Persepalus, Thebes, and Tyre, to the ground. This side is what Tracey, Aria, and more have seen for the past week. They have seen what happens when Alexander gives into temptations of power: his daimon, which thrives on these kinds of things take over. It was controlling him during the past week. He was the one who destroyed so many of the buildings around the world. You know what that phenomenon is called, I know that and we all know that, but we don't want to admit it. Is anyone brave enough to say it aloud?"

"I am!" Minondass stepped out in front and shouted loud so all could hear, "Alexandros Killiteen!" The crowd shuddered as they heard the name of the move. "This move is what destroyed Team Rocket's bases world-wide! This move is what has shut down electricity in a quarter of the world's cities! This move is what has finally, after over 20 years of domination, doing hateful crimes against pokemon, brought down Team Rocket!" The crowd, realizing what this meant, stood up and clapped and cheered with joy. A lot of the pokemon jumped up and down. "Yes!" Minondass cried, "it is a joyous day! But we should also think of what it took to get here.

I fought in three major battles over the course of four days. I was given the biggest responsibility I've ever been given, being the Captain-General of this army. And plus, I had to deal with the loss of 200 of my best men, who sacrificed their lives in the hopes that this prophecy wouldn't endanger the lives of innocent people. I grieve at their loss, especially that of the loss of Jack and Annie." Everyone gasped together as they discovered another grim fact: that Jack and Annie, from Magic Tree House, had fought and died as well.

"I watched one of my best soldiers, nay, my commander, bring down an army of one million men single-handedly! Yes, as many as there were in Darius's army at the battle of Gaugamela, brought down by one man! And, despite the fact that he is straight out of prophecy-fulfilling mode, he is here in full health and back to normal. Alexander? Netosha? Crick? Aristander?"

They came forward, each waving to the crowd. "_Hello Pallet!" Netosha and Crick shouted. "Happy to be here! We, you might be wondering, are the ones who armed Minondass for his battles!"

Someone shouted in question, "Minondass?"

"Me!" Minondass replied. "My sire far back was a Pikachu that belonged to the Theban general, Epeminondass. So, I'm using his name! And as for Aristander, her real name is Tracey Esteron. She thinks and I personally think, that she is a descendant of the real Aristander, Alexander's seer."

"Hey," Alexander said, "did you guys have any weird omens around the time of the battle of Gaugamela?"

"No," I said. "Just the fact that there was a lunar eclipse."

"A lunar eclipse!" Alexander repeated. "I had a solar eclipse! Why didn't you say this? It meant that you would win! You guys had a good omen and you didn't even know!"

"Awesome!" Mr. Alphis exclaimed. "That eclipse meant then that though the prophecy was fulfilled, you would make a quick recovery!"

"Nah," Alexander was honest, "just the fact that I would recover at all."

"Speaking of you, where are the rest of the Diadochi?" I asked.

"Oh, they're here," Alexander beckoned to someone behind him. "Guys, it's time to distinguish each of you from me! The first Hellenic League Naming ceremony!"

Giving the names to the guys was really fun. And, all the names were original. A7 was called Sevander, from his age; A10 was called Demskander, because of his work on Demosthenes; A13 was called Treachis, because he was taught by Aristotle starting then. A18 was Corander, for the battle of Caranea; A20 was Crossandder, since he crossed into Asia when Alexander was 20. A22 was named Slashander because of cutting the Gordian Knot, and as for A23, we called him Iskander, because of, the battle of Issos.

A24 was dubbed Oraclis, seeing that he had visited Siwah in that year, A29 was called Gelscus, for the battle of the Gelum. A33 was hard to name, but we decided on Difyus, since he had defied the orders of the Babylonian priests to stay out of Babylon.

And at last, the hardest one to name of all: A26. We couldn't figure out a suitable name for him, one that would clearly say who he was and what he had done. But then, Aria said, "How about we just use Geeskander? We called him that earlier."

"Sure!" Sevander was pleased and everyone else nodded. "It sounds really cool! And plus, Leonardo would love it!"

"I am loving it!" Leonardo's voice came from behind me. "I was here the whole time!"

"And, on behalf of all of us here in this town," Mr. Alphis proclaimed, "I officially declare you, Leonardo da Vinci, the chief Architecture and Art Director!"

"Thank you!" Leonardo was so happy and he ran towards City Hall, ready for work.

"And lastly, Alexander Alae Amon," the mayor said, "I give you and Minondass, as well as Tracey, Netosha, and Crick, the key to the city!"

"Are you serious?" Alexander was not believing; it couldn't be for him; he didn't deserve such an honor!

"Of course, Alskander!" the mayor used Alexander's honored Persian name. "And, I heard that Darius is out of the hospital and on his way to your house."

"I've gotta get there!" Alexander whistled to us. "Come on! Let's go back!"

"Already here!" Philip and Olympias came running down the isle between the people and they embraced their son. "Oh," Philip was crying, "I'm so proud of what you have done! I don't have to worry about people robbing Samuel of his pokemon!"

"And," Olympias added, "I can officially leave you in charge at our house and on vacation."

"Really?"

"Yes!" the two of them said.

"Where can I go?"

"Well," I said, "you can't exactly go anywhere yet, seeing that Ash needs to get better."

"Yeah," Alexander said, sighing, "but when he does, I don't wonna go anywhere anyway."

"Why?" Aria asked him.

"Since I don't know what'll happen this summer. I need to prepare for that! But, yes! Yes! Ye-" "Alexander," we all said in unison, "calm down. Just relax. We can do that when we're all ready. And, it's a new thing for us, so we'll all be preparing."

"And," Pauline said, "as you've said a long time ago, `there is nothing impossible for him who will try.`"

WAR POWERS PRAISED

(Amonniad Series Five)

By Aristander Telmizzen Esteron

Minondass Electris Ketchum

Alexander Alae Amon

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.1023 Rictron St. ,

Pallet Town CA, 12345

Maps drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. Copyright 2010 by Aristander Telmizzen Esteron, Minondass Electris Ketchum, and Alexander Alae Amon. Cover artwork copyright 2010 by Alexander Alae Amon. All rights reserved.

Any part of this book or any other written by any Hellenic League authors can only be used in another non-Hellenic League book with permission from the following persons. They are listed in order of rank, from lowest to highest da Vinci: Italian Contact, Royal Portrait Artist, 1st Pokemon Phalanx Commander, Head of Intelligence

Adam Eublades Usnitch: Royal Video Historian, Army Video Historian, Second-in-Command Intelligence Officer

Aristander Telmizzen Esteron: Royal Seer, Army Literary Historian, Royal Literary Historian, 2nd Hoplite Battalion Commander

Minondass Electris Ketchum: Army Second-in-Command, Greek Contact, Secondary Macedon Contact, Deputy

Alexander Alae Amon: Hellenic League Commander, world's best pokemon trainer and coordinator, world's most successful military tactician, Greek god of brilliance and pokemon coordination, world conqueror Alexander the Great

I, Aristander Telmizzen Esteron, have said that in May of this year, my previous book, _Prophecy _Controlled, would be the last of my account of the Hellenic League's commander, Alexander Alae Amon. However, important events after May of 2010 have led me to write another. It would be disgraceful of me not to complete the saga of the Hellenic League's first year.

I have written my account based on what is in Minondass's daily journal and Leonardo's intelligence reports. What I know of Alexander comes directly from the king's own lips. If you think that what I write is untrue, close this book and forget that you ever read it. You may forget this book, but remember Alexander the Great forever. You do not want to face my king when he discovers that someone has forgotten his name. My friends and I have not made this mistake, but we have seen his anger. We do not want you seeing that too.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to thank the author of _The _Virtues _of _War, Stephen Pressfield. It was militarily insightful, full of the eloquence of Demosthenes, the wisdom of Aristotle, and the rapture of fantasy. Alexander approves of it too. Your words helped me develop my writing style: factual Arrian, pondering Plutarch, intriguing Curtius. You are my favorite Alexandrian author, and as said by the whole of the Hellenic League, the best one.

Peter Green, you have been a primary resource as well. You are a very well-respected historian, and hopefully, I am helping your reputation by saying that the king approves of your book, even if it is confusing. It was an excellent resource for dates and logistic information. You may want to consider making a version that isn't set in an academic light. That would make the book easier for many people, Hellenic League soldiers especially, to understand. That would make us all very happy.

Lastly, I would like to give credit to my commander. Many nights, I would be unable to write these events in a coherent, flowing manuscript that would be accurate historically and would, when read aloud, sound like a story worthy of Homer. He would tell me how he desired the battles to be pictured, what he thought at such-and-such a time.

Furthermore, almost every night, at some point, I would run out of words to write. I would be unable to pen down another word. I would be tired, feel an ache in my hand that I felt would take days to go away, and would be unable and unwilling to stare at my papyrus any longer, desiring to put down my pen, walk away, and leave my account unfinished. Alexander was the only one who could get me writing again. He would talk of my deeds on the battlefield, my valiant work for the army, and how my oracles had helped everyone. I would be filled with a burst of inspiration, making my words fly like Daedalus's wings. I would finish a chapter, and would even want to write the whole book in one night. Again, only Alexander's persuasion kept me from locking myself in my study writing nonstop.

This book, from its first notes to its final manuscript was approved by him alone. He was the one who allowed me to publish all of my accounts. His judgement regarding my books is absolute, and even this very page was sanctioned by him. Sire, I hope that this book lives up to your expectations.

To Minondass for his bravery and dedication to Macedonian customs,

To Athena who has blessed me with her wisdom,

And to Alexander, my commander, friend, and king, who approves of every word I write, entrusting in my judgement, being a descendant of my namesake from Telmisis.

This poem was written by Pauline Ugalde and Leonardo da Vinci. I have published it with their permission.

SON OF PHILIP

Forward!

back!

phalanx advance!

commands only one speaks,

helmet flashing

sarissas rising and falling

leading this army

is the son of Philip.

He is gold among silver

brilliant amongst dull

men behind him

plans succeed him,

stops saying "Halt!"

praising every day

praising the army of the son of Philip.

Blond hair wavy

eyes shine brilliant

always charismatic

all who fight know his name,

he is Alexander

Macedon's prize

the restless at peace

the master in war.

Why drill?

sarissas swaying?

war calls whetted iron

"come fight, son of Philip

I, the son of Mithra!"

This other man

the only other

who could call himself divine

Darius III of Persia

their sun god's seed

provokes lightning's fire

the son of Philip.

Seer tells commander

"victory is certain

first fighting is hard,"

"I have waited too long

it is time. "

says commander

who knows what he must do.

In his tent he thinks and plans

forming battle lines

he thinks best general left

Agayma and I right

phalanx center spot,

at dawn is shaken awake

his generals ask why he sleeps so content

"I am satisfied,

I am victorious!"

in battle charges into the fray

does the son of Philip.

Hours fighting

his opponent fleeing

at his sight

riches of war are his

gold, silver, an empire

rewards for his men

and spoils for he,

the son of Philip.

Countless battles' brilliant mind

fearless, limitless,

power all-consuming, charisma boundless

having visions of Achilles

often Iliad dreams,

he wins always

he is brilliant always

he is the son of Philip.

1

Alexander Alae Amon

The Amon Residence, Pallet Town, CA

July 20, 2010

Anyone who has met me has told me that when they look at me, it feels like my eyes are looking right through them into their minds, searching their memories, and finding their weaknesses.

I always thought of it as something people said as a result of meeting someone as revered as myself, but Minondass has told me it was real.

It was late at night on July 20th. The Hellenic League had celebrated my birthday, my 21st. I remembered this day the first time, somewhere in Macedonia, planning the crossing to Asia. Maybe, I had been in front of Thebes, waiting for terms of surrender. I did not exactly remember. I did not need to remember. I would have to remember something much more important.

Tonight, Minondass and I lay on my bedroom floor, both on the verge of sleep. It was around midnight. With my eyes closed, I heard the rustle of covers as Minondass sat up. He whispered. "Sire?"

"Yes?"

"I have a very important thing to tell you. "

"What?" I opened my eyes and sat up as well.

"I have waited until today since I knew that today would be of note. Have you noticed that whenever people look at you, they seem hesitant?"

I thought about it. As a matter of fact, many people seemed to look directly at me, even if they did not know me. "Yes," I said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"I have been gathering evidence of this, all of it from those you have angered. It is plentiful but obscure, and only after months of research have I figured out that it actually exists. "

"What actually exists?"

"They say that when you are angered, your eyes gain a sort of brightness, like the light of an immortal turning into their divine form. They say that it is very strong, and when this light falls upon who has angered you, they shudder at your gaze. "

Minondass's voice suddenly became softer. He sounded like a poet reciting his work, the part where the hero has to face his fate. It was soft, sweet, scared, and awed. "Whenever you would reveal a particular part of one of your plans, one that someone was ignorant of and one that has gone as planned, your eyes brighten. They seem to engulf whoever you were addressing in a pool of fire. Your voice is as smooth as glass and as sharp as your sword. Your gaze prevents those who look at you from thinking, and your voice pulls them into the final part of your trap by the neck. When I am subdued by this power, I try to look away many times. All of the people who have seen you in anger try to look away, just like me. Every time they do, your gaze becomes even more powerful. Every commander has wanted to be able to do this. Now, you can. We do whatever you say because we all know what will happen if we must face your gaze. I call it the Iris Fire.

You had this look when you stabbed Ash. " Minondass's face grew grim. "When he was in the hospital, he was getting better for a couple of weeks. But, the doctors told me that his wound festered. I just found out last week. . . he is gone now. " He began to weep, not caring what I thought of it. I could tell that he had tried to hide his grief for the past several days, doing so only when alone. Now, in the privacy of the dark, he could do so freely. "You had that look when you gave him the wound that killed him. That is why I _always try to keep you satisfied, but it is impossible. Before the contest, Ash told me so himself. "I couldn't think, I couldn't act, I was powerless. " were his exact words! I do not want to end up like him! Your daimon controls you at these times. "

"Is that why people are hesitant to look at me?" I asked. "Is it because they can sense it controlling me?"

"Yes. Even though virtually all of those people have not met Ash, they can sense the immensity of your power. You are too powerful for even the gods to control. You know that. The Hellandric War was proof of that. Please Sire, you must commemorate Ash. It is only right. "

"We must burn his shroud, then," I said softly. "Ash is worthy of a funeral like Hephaistion's in Babylon. "

"Sire, I have already burned it. I did not tell you since you know that I have a closer connection to him than you do. I had the goldsmiths make him a gold coffin. I placed it on a pyre 100 feet high, with five levels. The first had American standards, like our flag and statues of our patrons. The second was Greek, with statuettes of the gods and Heracles, models of ships like those in the Athenian navy, and all sorts of Greek armor and weapons. The third was a Persian level, with archers, standards of the Persian kings, the sun emblem, and a pole with a crystal on it like that in Darius's second war chariot, to represent their god Mithra.

The fourth level, the last before the coffin, was devoted to pokemon. I placed his Pallet pokemon contest attire there, along with pictures of all of his pokemon. The top merely bore his coffin. When we set it ablaze, it was like how you described that of Hephaistion and the blaze that burned Persepalus, a firefall. The sparks were falling like fiery rain, and I even caught one in a fire-proof bottle. I give it tinder every day to keep it burning. I shall cease doing so at the end of the year. It is my way of keeping him with me. "

"Minondass," I said gently, "it is admirable that you do this, but Ash is the past. Because of his sacrifice, you have attained honors that he could never have dreamed of having. He is in Elysium now, I am sure. "

Minondass sighed, and reached under his pillow. He was holding a small bottle in his hands. It was as tall as a pokeball's diameter, about two inches. It was barely an inch wide, and in its center, a single spark shone brightly. "This," Minondass said, "is my interpretation of Ash's spirit. He is like a solitary spark, always bright, but never burning eternally. "

Minondass uncorked the bottle, and he handed it to me. The glass bottle was warmed by the spark's heat, and I was sad to think that soon, the bottle would be cold. "_You have to extinguish it," I said. "He is your trainer. "

He held the bottle to his lips and blew gently. The tiny flame went out.

Minondass replaced the bottle. He clasped his hands and recited a prayer. "Morphius, god of dreams, may you take me into a deep slumber, and may you show me that Ash Ketchum is appeased. I have offered him the honors that fit his station, and I accept that I will meet him again someday. Morphius, take me now. " He lay down and closed his eyes.

"Wait. I have a blessing of my own. " I laid my hand on Minondass's arm and pronounced a blessing too. "Minondass Electris Ketchum, may you have a marvelous military career. May your soldiers, past, present, and future, acknowledge that though your jurisdiction is very strong, it is at their mercy. May they realize that though you are their commander, a brilliant pokemon trainer, and a companion to them all, you are and always will be a soldier and a servant of the gods. Sleep well. "

"May you sleep well, Iskander. " Minondass replied, and we both fell under Morphius's spell.

2

Alexander Alae Amon

October 16, 2010

You have stayed here for much too long! I have allowed you to stay during the first battles of the Hellandric War, but no more! Be gone with you!. . .

I woke up and heard screaming. It didn't come from outside or downstairs, but from in my head. It was one o'clock in the morning, and I was wide awake.

The shouts in my mind died. It was like two people were having a debate, a very violent and fervent debate in my mind, and that the louder and angrier of the two had won. What the Hades is going on?

Then I pushed the yells aside. This happens all the time. I might as well ignore it for the time being. Maybe I was arguing with Minondass and Aria too hard last night. After all, I had screamed something like that to the two of them.

Let's go back in time, oh, about three hours. It was late Saturday night and we were bored, and were watching some video on the Internet. This time, it was Battles B. C. It's a show that talks about the details of a battle and the strategies of the generals involved in it, and this one was about the Battle at the Hydaspes, the last major battle I had fought in. Did I ever mention that two of the guys from that show were here too?

Long story short: we thought the show was awesome, we called them and asked them to come over, and they came.

We'd met them earlier that day when we began watching the show. They were both shocked at the fact that there was the potential for more people from their show to return, but I reassured them. "Anyone who would return that could be a threat would be driven out by me anyway. "

Rocky was fanatical, shouting out every possible detail he knew of me until Maria stopped him. "Rocky, you're not making a good impression. You'll make us look bad. "

"This happens all the time," I told them, and they both laughed.

Anyway, they were talking about how I transported my ships to the Hydaspes in sections. The boats' frames were collapsible like my catapults, so soldiers could carry them on their backs along with their arms and other supplies. "I've seen plenty of those catapults before," Minondass remarked, glancing towards a closet close by. That, I am sorry to say, is where I've stored most of my siege craft. "But why haven't I seen them in their collapsible form before?"

I smiled. "Well, you're not there when I set them up. Let me see," I felt my smile widen. "How about I show you?"

I crossed to the closet, pulling a crate from a high shelf. Opening it on the floor, I pulled a stack of planks from it. I pulled them apart, interlocking some parts, and slipping beams into holes in others, moving joints too. It only took a minute. I stood up, gesturing at the catapult at my side. It was about half the size of a normal one, but it could fling stones of the same size and for the same distance. Taut and braided ropes connected the stone's holding compartment to a lever at the back. As I pulled it down, the ropes became even more taut, and as I let go, the lever snapped back into place. If a thirty-pound rock was sitting in the front, it would have launched a quarter of a mile away, out of my living room, and over to the neighbor's five streets away.

Aria looked nervous. "How? Why? Where, did _this come from?"

"Think about it this way. I took siege on dozens of places. If I didn't have one of these in my house, then _that would be a surprise. "

"Now you see why I get so worried about him," Aria turned to our Battles B. C guests. Rocky Piscus was thin and balding, with clear eyes like running water. His companion, Maria Vaskez, had shoulder length red hair with black extensions, dark blue eyes deep set. She stared in wonder, or was that "oh my gods what the Hades?" at me. "Does he always have war machines like this hanging around?"

"You haven't seen the half of it," Aria said honestly. "In fact, for all we know, that catapult could be a small scale version of one that took siege on Tyre. Plus, he's this unpredictable all the time. The Hellandric War's first battles proved it. One day he was completely loyal to us and another, he had a sword at our necks. He became a completely different person, a killing machine really. "

I felt this feeling of, what, anger? rise inside of me. I had no idea why I was so mad at her, I only knew that she had deeply displeased me, and that I wanted to punish her for it, now. It was true in a way, as my daimon had changed me and it had controlled me. "You have stayed too long! I have allowed you to stay until now, but no more! Be gone!"

My heart raced, and I saw before my eyes, as if it were real, a dagger in my hand, slashing at Minondass.

Suddenly, I realized that my voice had risen to a shout and that I was speaking in Macedonian. Aria, Minondass, Maria, and Rocky stared in shock, and in Minondass's and Aria's cases, terror. I only shouted like that when I was severely angered, so much so that often, the shouts were coupled with the destruction of a nearby object, and other things. . "I am sorry," I said apologetically. "Sometimes, my temper flares for no reason I can figure out. Rocky, Maria, I hope I have not discouraged you from doing your research. "

Maria and Rocky shrugged. "It's okay," Rocky said, as honest as Aria, but sounding more weary than honest. "Maybe you should go rest or something, sleep early. We'll be fine. In fact, what you just did and what Aria has told us has helped our research actually. "

I nodded in agreement. "Maybe you're right. " I walked to my room and lay down. I closed my eyes and relaxed. Maybe sleep was what I needed. Maybe sleep, and other things, were what I needed.

3

Alexander Alae Amon

Back to the future.

I woke up with that screaming in my head. I also had the feeling that I needed to go somewhere. I wanted to go somewhere and see someone.

I stepped out of bed and walked down the hall to my mother Olympias's room. I watched her sleep, gray eyes closed and dark. Her breathing was deep and peaceful, but don't let that fool you. I've seen her run around the house just as hyper as Leonardo.

I gently lifted the cover off of her, exposing her light flesh. I watched her chest rise and fall, feeling the mental arguments rise in my head as I did so.

"I am here," I whispered.

Olympias sat up, her eyes opening smoothly. She didn't look sleepy at all. It was like she had been waiting for me. "Alexander. I have expected you. Why have you come to see me?"

"I feel like my consciousness is fighting with someone or something else. Like my subconscious and my conscious are sparring for control over me. "

Olympias looked me over, analyzing every aspect of me, from my body language to the cadence of my voice, to see if they were different from how they usually appeared. "When did you begin to feel like this?"

"Last night. I was talking to Aria, Minondass, Rocky, and Maria. We were watching something about the Battle at the Hydaspes and. . . "

I stopped, trying to figure out how to describe what happened. "I was showing them a torsion catapult and Aria was telling Rocky and Maria about the Hellandric War. I shouted at her and I don't know why. "

"What did you say?"

"I said "You have stayed here for too long! I allowed you to stay during the first Hellandric War battles, but no longer! Be gone!" I have no idea where it came from. I was happy and content up until that moment. It was like, um, like I was a different person. "

Olympias beckoned me to sit on the bed. "I know what is ailing you, my son. It is the same force that drove you during all of your battles. Your daimon was controlling you then. Your mortal mind was visibly defeated again. "

"What do I have to do to control my daimon?" I asked.

"Your mortal mind and your daimon can not be in the same body. They will only continue to fight. I have a remedy for this. I will separate the mortal and the divine. "

"How?"

Olympias pulled a short knife out from under her pillow. "This knife will separate your mortal mind from your daimon. This will not even hurt. "

I glanced at the knife. "What do I have to do?"

"I will merely cut your arm. I will let your mind do the rest. "

"What will happen after the separation?"

"There will be two of you. Each of your minds will have its own body. "

Olympias held the knife to my arm. "Will you do it?"

"I will. "

Olympias stood from the bed and I lay down. She pressed the knife to my arm hard. I closed my eyes and felt the blade sink into my flesh. No blood flowed from the cut, but I _did feel the pain. I bled mentally. I could feel it. My mortal mind was yelling in protest. Why do you do this? You have no idea what you are doing! You can't do this!

My daimon, however, was laughing softly. Perfect. I am completely in control now, no one will stand in the way. I do not have to share power. I can not be stopped, and I will _never be stopped!

I opened my eyes and stared. There was another one of me lying on the floor, eyes unfocused. "Where am I? One moment I was screaming in pain and now, I'm here. I'm Mixlis. "

"What?" Olympias was confused too.

"I'm Mixlis, you know, I'm your son's mortal mind. Who else do you think I would be?"

I stood from the bed and looked down at myself. When my friends said that I made a first impression, they never lied in what they said. I looked many things: reckless, careful, logical, having no sense of what logic was, smart, and everything else I could think of and none of those things all at once. I looked important and not of any importance. I looked flighty and fun, and physically and mentally much more capable than my friends. "You can not be here. "

"Why?"

"Because," I spoke not knowing why I did so. "you are not worthy. You do not deserve to be in my body, let alone in this room. "

Mixlis's eyes filled with astonishment. Another thing that my friends kept telling me was true: that I was emotionally predictable and erratic all at once. These things I may be, but I am never fearful. Neither was my slightly annoying double. "What will you do to me?"

I pulled a black and silver pokeball from my belt. This pokeball, black everywhere but in the center, where there was a silver ring, was made to capture trainers like pokemon. "Go in if you want to live. " I pointed the pokeball at him, poised to throw.

Mixlis stood rapidly and struck at my hand. I grabbed his wrist and twisted his hands behind his back. I kicked him in the neck and pushed him to the ground. He fought against my grip, but to no avail. I felt him grow rigid under me and then I saw energy tendrils extend from my hand. They wrapped themselves around Mixlis's body. He couldn't move. "Go X-ball!"

Mixlis vanished in a red glow.

I had never felt so good before, with mortal mind inside me or otherwise. I do not know if "good" is the right word since it felt more satisfying and pleasurable than good. Striking those blows was exciting for me. It felt wonderful and energy still rushed through my veins: barely contained, uncontrolled, for no one else but me.

I gave Olympias the pokeball holding my mortal mind. "I will not need this. Keep it safe. "

Olympias slipped it under her pillow with her dagger in reply. "I like the new you. You seem so much more powerful and commanding, somehow. "

Olympias stared directly in my face and into my eyes. She gasped. "Those eyes!"

"What is wrong?"

"those blue gray eyes! The blue, so clear, the gray, so dark. They are just how Aristotle has described to me. "

I was confused at first: was not one of my eyes dark brown? I looked in a mirror on the wall absentmindedly. My eyes had somehow both turned to the same color. "The color's name does not do you justice. It looks like more than just a mix of colors or two colors coexisting. It is steelier than gray and brighter than blue. It cuts like a blade and it will stay that way forever. The brightness will never die, for you will never die. X-blade eyes. "

I looked in the mirror and saw what she saw. The blue was so bright it was almost white and the gray was no longer gray. It was black, hidden somewhere behind the blue, showing itself enough so you would think twice about making it show more. There was also a bright silver sheen in my eyes, and this made them look like fire in an eye socket. Now I realized that what Minondass had said over the summer was true: how my eyes grew bright and deadly, how they stopped anyone in their tracks, how everyone could see them and be influenced by their powers. It was all true.

At that moment, the satisfaction of this hit me. I can command an army without uttering a word? I like this. I can fight, even without my blade. My eyes alone can disarm even the most highly trained warriors in a single glance. If I shout a command, it would be followed, for anyone who hears it would not want to feel the power of my x-blade eyes.

The excitement I felt redoubled. I felt high and full of energy. Even during the war, I had not felt this way. I know what this is, I thought. It is the feeling of having so much power at your disposal that you can never use all of it, even if you wanted. I feel like I could fight anyone, and kill anyone, and win a battle against anyone. Where is the nearest fight? I thought savagely. I want blood to flow now, like water in a river. I want to see thousands of bodies lying on the ground, disfigured beyond recognition. I want my enemy to be eradicated, and I want this rush to stay with me. Nothing can compare to this, nothing.

I held my mother close, letting her head rest against my shoulder. I hoped that she could feel my rush of pleasure through my touch. She understood my happiness almost as much as I did. The only difference was that she did not have the power: I did. "I know what I must do. "

"And tell me, what is that?"

"I must establish my new reign and do it as soon as I can. I will always remember what you have done, mother. You have made me realize how much I love war and what it reaps. Killing to me is like how others feel about football or baseball. War is my sport. The Hellandric War is not over. "

I stood, but Olympias stopped me. "Go now. You are the only one, dead, alive, or to live, who is worthy of your name. Your mortal mind would shame it. Do not do so yourself. Prove that your name is more powerful than any other, Alexander. Go!"

4

Minondass Ketchum

Minondass's office, Hellenic Watch Center

October 17, 2010

"How is our garrison?" I was checking up on the garrisons I had placed around the world after the Hellandric War. "It looks like our Alexandrian troops are okay. "

"Sydon is okay too Sire," Sevander agreed. "They've been used to drive off some people trying to raid its farmers' fields. They only used bows and arrows, but they need more. What should I tell their commander Sire?"

"Tell him that Odysseus will be there tomorrow to rearm him. " I actually have no idea how Sevander learned how to use a computer so fast, but he has. He almost knows more than I do. "I'll email him after we're done checking the rest. How is Tyre?"

Sevander's eyes grew stern. "They are not doing well. Many riots have broken out and the commander Setamades wants you to see the damage they have caused in person. "

I reached over to the laptop. "Setamades," I wrote, "I'm on my way. Who should I bring?"

I waited for a reply. It didn't take long. "Bring your best generals. "

"Should I bring the Battles B. C guys? They could be useful. "

"They're too valuable to lose right now. They're not trained yet too. Have Athena tell them to remain in Pallet. "

"Should I bring Alexander?"

"Yes! Please!"

"Calm down Setamades," I wrote, "I'll tell him to come out to see you. We'll be there by tomorrow. "

"Thank you!" was the happy reply. The email even had a smily face next to it. I'm proud of our army's digital communication network, for it's quite efficient. I could pass a message around to all of the officers in minutes. Speaking of Alexander, where was he?

Sevander and I walked out of my office. On Ricktron Street in Pallet Town, there was the Greece Watch Center. All our officers had offices there and we often held meetings in its conference room. I headed down the long halls, looking for our commander. Even in an organization of Greeks, he stands out. He's the tallest member and the most talkative. It wouldn't seem that way if you saw one of his portraits, looking quiet and shy, which he can be at times, but that is just part of his personality. I've heard him talk on the phone for hours like a teenager.

I knocked on another door. This one had a brass plaque on the door that said Commander Alexander. I waited for the call to come in. It came: "Who is it?"

"It's Minondass Sire," I called. "I have news from Setamades. "

I entered, closing the door behind me. Computers and video screens lined the walls. Book shelves and weapons racks sat side by side. I sat at the chair across from Alexander. He looked at me with respect, for though he was higher in rank than I, he still honored my deeds. I looked back and noticed something. The Iris Fire was back, but it wasn't fully activated. It was more like it was there, but covered by the rest of his eye. "What is it Minondass?"

"Setamades wants us to send our best soldiers to Tyre. Riots are leaving the people at unrest and he said that we must see it for ourselves. Will you come?"

"Yes I will. Alert the officers. "

"I will do that Sire," I said. I ran out of the room.

Outside Garrison Camp, Tyre

October 18, 2010

We appeared on the peninsula. "I can't believe that we're actually at Tyre," I said. "To think, you spent seven months here. I can just imagine what you can do in seven months. Let's find Setamades. "

The soldiers' barracks were not much more than a collection of tents at the edge of the city. Setamades stood in front of one and waved to us. "You have made it. "

I shook Setamades's hand. "Tell me, why are your soldiers in tents? This isn't in the middle of no where. "

Setamades's eyes grew somber. "Some seers and others set fire to some of our buildings, where we originally were staying. That happened at the end of September. For the past two weeks, I have been trying to have my soldiers patrol the streets, but these seers are smart. They fled from the city as soon as they found out that I was letting the soldiers do their rounds. They said however, before they left, that eventually, more of that kind of thing would happen, so we might as well be prepared for it. "

"More things to be set on fire?"

"Exactly. Our troops patrol the city as much as they can, but we need your help. "

Alexander spoke then. "We will meet you tonight, after we establish where our quarters shall be. Until then, I will have Aristander interpret what you have said. "

In fact, our tent was the one that Setamades was standing in front of. We didn't even bother to unpack our few belongings. We went straight to work. Alexander sent a passing soldier to go look for Aristander, and five minutes later she walked into the tent, her notebook under one arm. She sat beside me. "So," she said, "why have you sent me here?"

Alexander and I told Aristander what Setamades had told us. "More of this kind of thing to happen," she repeated, writing as she spoke. "I could say that this means many things. It could mean that more riots will happen, that more places could be burned down, or specifically, more Hellenic League places will be destroyed. It could also mean that something will happen to one of our members. "

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked.

Aristander nodded. "First of all, we must remain in tents, for I am afraid that if we move back into the city, these other seers may cause more trouble. If this foretells something happening to a person, then there is nothing we can do. Just because a place is burned, doesn't mean that a person will die. It could mean that this person will change negatively. "

Then, Aristander turned to Alexander. "Usually, _you are the one asking the questions. What happened?"

"I am doing what my father did back before the battle of Caranea. He said little and let others talk for him. "

"Doing what Stephen Pressfield suggested?" I made a reference to _The _Virtues _of _War by Stephen Pressfield, an audio book we had listened to first in April, then again over the summer. Alexander loved that book, mostly because what Pressfield wrote was correct: he always attacked and never defended, he let others talk during meetings, he listened to other people's suggestions, and took them into account. "That is all Aristander. You can stay if you want. We're meeting Setamades tonight. "

"I'm going to unpack my things, but thank you for the offer. See you both tonight. " She stood and left.

The meeting with the garrison commander didn't take very long. "Aristander told us that the burning could mean the destroying of a place, owned by the Hellenic League or not, or that an important event could happen to one of our officers. " Setamades took note of Alexander's words as he said them. He seemed to be quieter than usual. Aristander was right. It was like he was either absentminded or thinking about something very deeply. Stop thinking like that, I told myself. He's probably just taking in the fact that he's back at Tyre. This is no problem that must be thought of when around others. I can wait on it. And so I did.

Two days. That was how long I put my thoughts aside. I spent those two days visiting the soldiers and figuring out what had occurred in the city. The soldiers had been on their normal rounds when seers had snuck past the guards and set the buildings ablaze. There had been about ten of them, all claiming to have been from Telmisis, just like Aristander. They said that their deed would be an omen as reliable as those of their kin. Setamades had sent the archers and Peltasts to chase them, but the seers had fled. After Ptolemy had said goodnight and put me to bed, I lay awake, pondering what I had accomplished. My mind turned to what i had put aside. I recalled the events of the past few days: Alexander's shouts back in Pallet, his lack of participation in the meetings, the fact that he was letting me command. Two possibilities showed themselves to me. He was probably letting me command to see how I fared, especially with affairs of this kind. He was probably merely trying to figure out how well I had done. This was normal. During the summer, he had told me that I had handled my commander-ship well, and that I was proficient in military tactics.

This still didn't explain why he shouted what he had in Macedonian. He only did that on rare occasions when he was very, very, very mad. Most times it was accompanied by a lightning bolt cleaving something in two, and this same bolt setting it on fire. He had to compose himself overnight, and even then, it took a day or two for him to return to normal.

Then, it hit me. His daimon had controlled him again. It had told him to shout those words. It had been fighting with Alexander's mortal mind for the past few months, and it had won. Alexander was this quiet because he didn't have to talk. His daimon, who was controlling him, didn't even need to talk.

I looked over at Alexander, sound asleep in the cot across the tent from me. His eyes were closed, but they still burned a hole into my mind. It was like his body was asleep and his mind was wide awake. "What do you want with him now?" I whispered. "What will you do to us now?"

The eyes stared back. I suddenly thought of a single word: x-blade. That was what color his eyes were. How I knew that, I was unsure of, but I knew that I wouldn't want to face those eyes when they were open. I turned away and tried to sleep, the last thing I saw being an image that I imagined. I saw Alexander's eyes at full power, turning me to ashes with a single glance.

5

Alexander Alae Amon

Garrison Camp, Tyre

Night of October 19, 2010

At first, I moved with no awareness.

I stood smoothly, my head touching the ceiling of the tent. I reached to a clothes-chest and slipped a black cloak around my shoulders. It reached down to my ankles and was tight enough around them to allow me to move. A black sword-belt followed. Then, I slipped several daggers into slots in my belt. I knew what I had to do.

I stepped out of the tent into the crisp night air. The camp was as silent as a camp could be, being occupied with 1,000 men. Even the pack animals were mute tonight. Soon, there would be 1,000 men no longer.

I crossed the camp and went up to a tent at random. I tore the leather tent flap off of the tent like I was ripping paper.

I watched two men sleep in cots opposite from one another.

I lifted the covers off one man, who stirred. I laid a hand on his forehead, and he suddenly jerked awake. He stared at me, aghast. "You c-can n-not be him," he whispered. "I t-thought that the War was, was,"

"Over?" I whispered softly. "You thought that the war was over? You have made a grave mistake. In fact, it has only begun. "

I pressed my hand against the man's head, and he screamed in pain. My laughter filled the tent, and I immediately knew why. It was satisfaction and pleasure, pleasure from others' pain, that I was feeling. This woke the second man, who screamed too. "Ēlectren!" My blade appeared on my opponent's head. I slid it down to his neck. He writhed and yelled, trying to escape my grip. It would be in vain, for my other hand twisted his arms out of their shoulder sockets.

My blade slit the man's throat with an assassin's accuracy and a god's power. His blood ran down his body and onto me. Blood guilt did not ravage me like what happened to Heracles after he butchered his family. This was necessary. A typical war crime. The first assassination I had executed personally.

The dead man's tent-mate drew his sword and approached me, but I aimed my blade at him too. He froze, staring not at my weapon, but at me. "Those," he stammered. "Those eyes. Light as fire, dark as night. Cutting like your blade. Sire, I know that you would only commit such a crime as what you did if there was a purpose behind it. Why have you come?"

I began to reach for a throwing-knife at my belt, but I thought better of it. I knew that at least one man had to know my intentions. I placed my other hand at my side with my blade stretched out in front of me. "I have come to tell you that your commander has control of me no longer. I can be no one's soldier, for I am my own army. If you made me fight the whole of our army, I could defeat them all with ease, with my blade alone.

I see how my mere gaze disarms you. "

Even as I spoke, the man's blade fell and shattered like glass. "Tell your commander if you will, for it will not matter anymore. Minondass may have helped me much when my mortal mind was in control, but no more. Nothing will stop me this time!"

The man scurried out of my way as I ran from the tent, faster than any camera or person could see. From tent to tent I went, killing every other man. Blood flowed like water. With each encounter, my gaze grew more powerful. I could see the fear of all of my captives grow too, each one trying to look away from me harder than the last. Every time in accordance with their efforts, I cranked my eyes up to a new power level, each more physically and mentally devastating than its predecessor. My gaze caused their bodies to freeze, unable to move, their minds unable to create a single thought besides that of "Release me!" They are unable to escape, for I make them think this. This makes them look away, and this makes them become even more ensnared in my trap. The men who left my presence after these quarrels were never the same.

With the last stroke of the blade, I walked out of the last tent. I went back to each tent, took each body, and carried them to the center of camp. I lined them up in rows. I wanted Minondass to see the evidence of my deed. I wanted him to understand that I was part of his force no longer. I was their enemy now.

I stood from the last body to admire my handiwork. My blade had taken half of our force of 1,000 men to Hades in one night. No other conqueror could claim such an honor. Now, any other conqueror and every other conqueror paled in comparison to me even more than before. I felt a smile cross my face, as I relished Minondass's panic. I could taste his shock and terror on my tongue, like a sweet eaten after supper. His fear was like cold water poured from a cup onto my dry lips. I needed it to survive, just like water. I could not live without seeing the fear in my enemies' eyes. I loved the feeling of it. No wonder I love this, I thought. I love it for the thrill. As I thought this, I felt a rush of excitement fill my chest. My heart raced and I felt high. I wanted to run and scream and shout with pleasure. I loved to see all this carnage. If only I had these powers back in Persia the first time. I would have been unstoppable. I would have loved to vanquish Darius's forces every day, every drop of blood the more sweet to savor. These men, now, will be the first victims in my war.

Some think war a brutal sport; I think it a brutal, fun, arousing sport.

I am its master player.

My arm raised to the night, the tip of the blade pointing skyward. "Prepare yourself Minondass," I said, projecting my words so that all, asleep or not, could hear, "for you shall fight a force that no one has ever defeated!"

A lightning bolt flew from my sword and arced across the sky. My laughter, soft, loud, fatal, swelled to fill the camp and I knew that all knew it was happening. I felt everyone's fear press on my mind, and I loved the pressure. "May you still fear," I said with relish, my voice shaking with power-crazed desire and a quieter, more satisfied laugh, one that chilled whoever heard it to the bone, distorted my words.

I left camp, taking no belongings but for my cloak and daggers. Chuckling the whole way, I ran across the now long buried causeway I had made to Sydon.

Minondass Ketchum

Night of October 19, 2010

This night, I dreamed of a familiar man. He looked like my foe, but, even in my dream, felt more kind and possessed all of the random qualities he possessed normally. I saw from my omniscient view that he held a pen, and that he was shaking it. After a while, he seemed satisfied. I thought what he thought. The ink is well-shaken. I don't want any poorly mixed ink to smudge my message.

He placed the tip on the inner surface of the pokeball. "I must get help," I heard him whisper. "This must work. It has to. Someone must see this. Here goes. "

I saw him write a poem, one with simple verses. It showed who I was up against. As if reading it over his shoulder, I read his rhymes.

why does he trap me

he thinks it is for power

he thinks he can not be defeated

in any place

or at any hour

minondass will soon see

that after his wait

that no one can subdue

alexander the great

His being consists of power

that power which is divine

which is felt at his glance

shooting from his eyes

like swords they are

destroying what we have made

four corners of fire

two circles of x-blade

only one solution

to this unending war

discuss terms with him

as quickly as you can

or your dead soldier's comrades

will be like their brothers

all of them murdered at his hands

use me to fight he

who in battle will never lose

but even so with my help

your fate and all fates he shall choose

6

Minondass Ketchum

October 20, 2010

"Sire,"

Aristander said, "I have only one thing to say. You have dreamed of our commander's mortal mind. In it are all of the qualities that make him likable. Someone trapped him in this pokeball, and he wrote that poem to try to get his message to us. He knew that we would get it somehow, through a dream or otherwise. "

It was pitch-black outside when I awoke. As soon as I had had the dream, I had went across camp to find Aristander. I had told her of my dream, and she had pronounced what it meant. I was about to reply when a man came running in. He was still in his night-shirt, and he looked like he had just woken up. "You must see this at once!" he shouted, tugging at my arm.

"What has happened?" Aristander asked.

"There is a circle of burned ground outside. Right in front of your tent. It's about ten feet across and has no blemish in its curve. "

"What could this be?" I asked Aristander.

"There is only one way such a mark like this can be made: a lightning bolt. Its fire must have spread very quickly and died very quickly. "

"Only Alexander can do that," I thought aloud. "Why would he do this anyway? By the way, where is he?"

"He must be still asleep," said the squire. Then he glanced behind my cot at the adjacent one. "Sire, he is not here. "

"What?" I said, confused at first. Then, Aristander and I looked. The cot was empty, a clothes chest was open, and a box of weapons was open too. "Why?" I asked in disbelief. "Why would he leave?"

"I do not know. But, that is not the worst of it. Come and see!"

We went to the center of camp this time. There, lying in rows, were hundreds of bodies. All were dispatched the same way, a cut at the throat. No other part of the body was touched but for splashes of blood on them. "How did you find out about this?" I asked.

"One of the soldiers told me Sire. Here he is now. "

A man from the archers ran up to me, wild-eyed, jittery, and sleepless. "Sire!" he gasped. "Black daggers, black cloak!"

"What happened friend?" I asked.

"I am Metanedes, son of Starthris, and I was with my tent-mate, Petris, son of Castran. It was the middle of the night and I suddenly heard Petris scream. I awoke to see," he gulped. "I saw a man, a very tall man, with a hand on Petris's forehead. He was dressed all in black: black cloak, black sword-belt, black sandals. He wore no armor, not even a helmet. His blade came straight out of his arm, no hand gripping a hilt or anything. He had slid his blade down to Petris's throat, and, he cut it.

I tried to defend myself, but he, he, his eyes. His eyes hypnotized me, or disarmed me somehow. I couldn't think, or move for that matter. My blade broke into pieces at his command. He told me that I could tell you of the event if I pleased and that it wouldn't matter anyway. "

"Metanedes, did this man say what you should tell me?" I asked.

"He said "Minondass may have helped me much when my mortal mind was in control, but no more. Nothing will stop me this time!" Then, he ran out. Or at least I think so, because he disappeared. "

I thought the event over. "He probably ran so fast that he couldn't be seen. Only one person can do that: Alexander. "

I thought about the charred circle in front of my tent, and the empty cot, and the weapons. I tried to stay calm. "Did you see what this man looked like, besides his garb?"

"I did. He had blond hair that went down to his shoulders, loose it was. He was seven feet tall, and his head touched the ceiling of the tent. He is the only one I have seen who can do so. As I said, he was dressed all in black. But," the man stopped yet again. "His eyes. They were blue gray. No, they were a blue that was so bright it was almost white and a gray so dark it was black. Blue-black eyes. When they looked at me, `it felt like they were severing my mind from my body, finding and exposing what made me vulnerable. His voice attracted my attention for a reason unknown to me at the time. Now I know why: it was his charisma, his prowess at oration that I somehow knew existed. It had controlled me. It had convinced me not to fight his gaze. When he laughed, I felt his satisfaction cut through me like a sword, and I wanted to run and hide, knowing that there was no place to hide from him. "

Metanedes screamed as he recounted the incident. "Sorry Sire," he whispered, terror in his eyes. "I can not describe it well enough. He was the perfect warrior: fast, smart, deadly, unforgiving, causing fear at his mere glance toward you. . "

I thought over the description. _Alexander's voice was inherently persuasive. He could do rhetoric on the fly, and he could win any debate. No one could argue with him, or no one wanted to when they heard him speak. The generals and I experienced this all the time. "I know who you saw," I said slowly, "though you may not believe it. "

"Anything to soothe me," the soldier begged. "Tell me Sire!"

"It was the daimon of the god. He has controlled our friend again. " He made him make the burned circle, probably as a sign, I thought.

"But _who, Sire? Tell me straight!"

"It was Alexander.

7

Minondass Ketchum

Garrison Camp, Tyre

October 23, 2010

It was now three days after the killings of the soldiers. I had spent those three days thinking. At last, I had called a council of war. I started our meeting. It didn't take long for us to make our decision. "What shall we do?"

All of my generals were gathered together on the floor of my tent. Aria spoke first. "First of all, we must find people who could have information as to why Alexander left. Who could that be? Is it a soldier we have to talk to?"

"No. They don't know that kind of thing," Aristander replied. "No soldier knows what we have to do. We have to speak to Olympias. "

"How do we get her here?" Ptolemy asked.

"I can teleport home and get her," I offered. "Who's with me?"

Everyone nodded. "Will you go armed or not?" Metanedes wondered. He wasn't a general, but he was an important person to refer to.

"I will. Aristander will protect me and will be my Agayma for this trip. It should be short, so if I need help, I can call you. Aristander, get my armor. I'm leaving now. "

"Can I borrow your pokemon cards?" Aristander asked. "I know how we can transport Sire and I to Pallet. "

Aria handed them over. "I wish you had your own deck. We can't always get what we want. Oh well. "

Fifteen minutes later, I stood in the center of the tent, helmet on head and dagger in belt. Aristander stood before me, Aria's deck of pokemon cards in hand. Pokemon cards have a charm on them that turns them into real pokemon when thrown, just like pokeballs. Aristander threw a card with a black square shaded in white on it into the tent. "Transport go!" she shouted. Then, we disappeared.

Now, we stood in Olympias's room. She stood from the bed and bowed to me. "Greetings, Sire. Why have you come?"

"I need information. Your son has, gone dark. Half of our 1000-man force in Tyre is dead. He did it with his own hand in one night. "

Olympias frowned. "I think I know why this has happened. I used a magical knife to split Alexander's daimon and mortal mind into two people. He told me to put his mortal body in a pokeball. It's

right here. "

Olympias reached under her pillow and placed a completely black pokeball on the bed. She pressed the button on it and someone appeared on the floor. "I'm alive!" he shouted, jumping to his feet. "Minondass! Aris-" He stopped when Aristander held a knife to his throat. "You have the right to stay silent. You have committed 500 counts of soldier's murder. "

His eyes grew wide. "Don't hurt me! I'm just a person! I may _look like the guy who dispatched all of those soldiers, but I'm not the same person. I'm Mixlis, your friend's mortal mind. "

Aristander lowered the knife. "But, what are we going to do about the men we still have? They'll think that it's, him. "

"Trust me, considering that I'm unarmed and

annoying, they'll know the difference. Mom, are you staying here?"

"I am. Good luck. And," she said, "bring the pokeball. "

"Let's go. " Aristander reached down for her card, but Mixlis stopped her. "Wait! I have to get some stuff!"

He ran out of the room and was back at once. He held up three decks of pokemon cards of sixty cards each. "These will come in handy. Let's go. "

"Transport go!" Aristander shouted, and we were away.

As soon as I arrived, I gathered the remaining force together. They quieted down. "I have brought you here to be taught a new way to fight. You have all been given a deck of pokemon cards by Aristander. When you throw one out, it becomes a real pokemon. You can use these as guards, for if someone tried to break into your tent, you would be defended. Your pokemon will also replenish the men we have lost. "

"Minondass and I," Aristander raised her voice, "will be visiting each squadron in person to help you. We will visit 100 men each day and we will not stop until everyone knows how to pokecard. "

"Pokecard?" one man repeated.

"A person who uses pokemon cards. Mixlis coined the term. "

"Who is Mixlis?" the same man asked.

"Mixlis is a new ally. I met him when I went to tell Olympias of our situation. " Mixlis stepped to my side. I saw that all the men were staring in shock. "What the Hades?" I heard one Companion whisper. "What's next? A duplicate of Callisthenes? Never again will I deal with him. "

I addressed the man's question. "He is not who you think he is. He is Alexander's mortal mind. He is distilled randomness. "

"It's great to be back," he said, but I'm still annoyed at Tyre. Be lucky that the walls are already knocked down, or else our foe might have stolen our catapults. He may damn well have used them too. "

"That's proof enough for me," a cavalry officer shouted. "Now, are we going to train or not?"

8

Minondass Ketchum

Garrison Camp, Tyre

November 2, 2010

Every day, my men got better and better at pokecarding. We were all eager to learn the skills needed to wield our cards well. I especially was excited. I awoke before everyone else even thought of getting out of bed. I motivated the soldiers to do the same. After the whole army drilled with their traditional weapons, they would take out their decks, meet in the center of camp, and learn all they needed to know. From Mixlis, our chief pokecarder, we learned of concepts like that of the hand, the deck's anatomy, and the making of strategies.

The men weren't the only ones who were learning, but I was too. The men were giving me advice and tips that I had not thought of before. This was a new experience for all of us, seeing that we only pokecarded for fun. Now, it would become a skill that any soldier in our army would have to learn how to do. It could be used in combat when every other weapon was useless.

These days were probably the most peaceful of the war. I only worried about the welfare of my men, and not of those of myself. Even the intelligence, which I received every day, told me this as well, for all of them showed that there was no enemy activity. Reports of my enemy were calm. He had not moved from his position at Sydon, and Leonardo had even recorded Alexander saying so himself.

Though I looked content from the outside, I was still worried. Thoughts of my opponent filled my head as soon as I closed my eyes every night. If our enemy was compliant enough to stay inactive for this long, as to compliment our schedule, I wondered why he would do this and what he was planning.

Ten days after the training began, on the tenth night, all of these worries presented themselves to me. I had to figure out what my opponent was doing. He could attack any time now. All he needed to do was to enter our camp. Our security measures would be futile, as though we had troops patrolling the camp every night, they would be unable to catch him. I had to act, I thought. Tomorrow, I will have a talk with the men and with the generals. I can not afford to sit here benignly like I do not have military experience. I have a target on my back and he knows it. I have to rid myself of it. It is time that I take this seriously. Tomorrow, I'll hold another war council.

"Aria Alphis daughter of Athena," my squire called my last general into the tent. We were all gathered in a circle on the floor. My reports in paper copy were lined up in the center. Each one read something like this:

The enemy has remained at his position at Sydon and does not appear to have any plans of moving. He has complied with our officers, and he has told them that he is not planning anything in particular today. If it appears that this changes, he is open to questioning.

"Why do you think our enemy is making no move to attack us?" Aristander asked.

"He probably doesn't want to attack now. He would only do this if he knew our schedule, and he probably does. He's waiting until we let our guard down, so he can attack again. " As I spoke, I took dote of my words. "What should we do now? We have trained the rest of the men. Should we return our schedule to normal?"

"Sire, any action could be taken. However," Setamades said, "we must have more troops on patrol and we should tell them to be ready to fight at all times. "

My generals, seer, and I took down the man's words. We all stood to leave. "Well, this plan must suffice for now. Tonight, I will not have supper in my tent, for I will be with the men. "

That night, I stood at the top of another dais. "Friends, we all know of our plight, that of our commander deserting us. He is being controlled by his mind for war, that which has no mercy or regard of how to achieve its ends. It has powers that we could never associate with a man of only twenty-one years, let alone of any man who was previously mortal. I will keep my speech short, then, for there is only one thing we must do. Intelligence reports from Leonardo have told me that our opponent is moving out of Sydon and is on his way. He will most likely attack us at night.

Therefore, brothers in arms, tonight we shall stay awake and have no sleep. We shall grasp daggers and shields instead of water-buckets to extinguish our torches. I am not afraid to raise my blade against yours, and neither are my men! Do not be a coward and attack us when we cannot see you! Show us why you have been called the Great!" I yelled to the sky.

Men cheered, clashing swords and shields together. They filed out of the center of camp back to their tents. I followed suit, hand grasping my dagger in my belt. It was the battle of Gaugamela all over again. Now, this will be the second siege of Tyre.

The first things I heard were the screams and shouts. He is here! He is here! Sire!

I bolted upright from bed, flinging my arms and legs into my armor. I slammed my helmet onto my head and reached for my sword. Aristander ran in, doing much the same. "He is at the south border of the camp Sire," she panted. "I do not know if any men have perished yet, but it sounds like they need us. "

I nodded and we ran toward the noise. I saw the glint of swords clashing against swords before I saw the men. Blades flew like birds and fell like ones with broken wings. Then, I saw the first man fall, a wound in his neck. I did not see who had struck him, but I knew who it was.

Aristander and I ran into the fray, striking more at our ally's swords than the enemy's, for the enemy was not numerous, there was only one. I saw a javelin sail over my head, and I turned to face my assailant. He had done exactly what I had wanted him to do. Alexander stood before me, not sprinting from man to man faster than the eye could see. He was completely visible. He was sparring with Aristander, and she was doing much better than before. She weaved her arm around his, and slashed at his neck, just to have the cut parried. I took a tiny knife from my belt and threw it. Alexander turned away from my seer and aimed at my head instead. This is just like May all over again. I barely managed to avoid the top of my helmet from being sliced off, as I spun and swung my blade every which way. However, it was always parried and reflected with ten times the speed of my own. I could not even see the blades anymore, only heard them clash.

My soldiers surrounded us, trying to help out. Archers fired quiver after quiver of arrows, only to have them be sliced by my opponent's lightning-fast blade of bronze. Daggers flew like mine, only to suffer the same fate. More often than not, they were killed by their own knives. The group of about one hundred men that had been defending the border of the camp was now slashed in half. I sparred faster and faster, but it was in vain. Alexander knocked my blade out of my hand and grabbed me. I felt myself being lifted up to his eye level. He leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Minondass, now do you see how easily it is for me to defeat your force? I am doing more damage now than I did with an army like yours. It is fortunate that you at least prepared your men, for you would not have had your wish granted otherwise. "

"What wish?" I asked.

"Your wish to see me and fight me has been granted, has it not? I know this, as your mind is quite susceptible to infiltration. The clutter of your thoughts hampered me slightly, but this did not affect how I saw what you were doing. I suspected that you would allow your men a few days to become accustomed to pokecarding, and that you would oversee it yourself. I knew your whole schedule, and that is why I stayed inactive during that time. "

Alexander dropped me and I righted myself. "I have had enough of these fights. When will we negotiate terms?"

"I will give you three days. " was my enemy's reply.

I took a risk, hoping that Alexander would know what I was aiming for. "I trust that you will not use any weapon you have on your person during the negotiation. "

Alexander nodded. "I assume that in three days, you will have your terms. "

I nodded too. "I will. My remaining men will escort you beyond Tyre, then you may leave. "

The troops that remained surrounded Alexander, and they marched away. No one in the group bothered to resist their hostage, and even the person they were guarding was strangely compliant. However, the Iris Fire, which had not been in use during the fight, engaged now, as if Alexander wanted to melt my helmet off of my head. I turned away, eyes downcast, and felt the Great's gaze grow ever stronger.

9

Alexander Alae Amon

Sydon

November 3, 2010

For once, I have agreed with my adversary. We have established that we will meet in three days to discuss terms to end the war. I have some simple terms I wish my opponent to follow.

First, I want him to acknowledge that it is futile to fight against me. He shall give up his arms and surrender his men to me. They shall be my prisoners. I will keep him hostage myself. I will ensure that they are well-cared for, for I do not intend to kill any of my hostages. They could be useful for if anything should arise.

Secondly, Minondass shall agree to never raise another army. Even if he does not agree, it does not matter. It will not be affective anyway, and he will understand that at once. He has seen my abilities in battle plenty of times, and he knows that I exceed him and his army in every way possible. His elite troops will not even mark me, for they will all be dead before they even lay eyes on me.

Lastly, I wish Minondass to give up his command. I do not want anything that could be used to build a second army to remain when I establish my reign. Minondass will be my subordinate, just below in rank to myself. I shall use him in matters of high regard that are not important enough for me to intervene in myself. He will also act as my diplomat if I choose not to accompany my other envoys. His high standing will remain, but it will be for my own ends.

Minondass will not have to agree to all of these terms, for he may be only my hostage if he wishes. Unlike what I did with Darius, I will be lenient to him, for I know that it is not his fault that we clash. The Fates want us to fight. He can not help himself.

He will have to be very eloquent in his words, though, in order to top these terms. I do not desire much. I do not desire much from him. I want much more from his generals, especially Aristander. She can give me auspicious omens. I am looking forward to hearing what Minondass wants from me.

10

Minondass Ketchum

Garrison Camp, Tyre

Night of November 6, 2010

Before I met with Alexander, I sat and talked to Mixlis. "What is wrong Sire?" he asked. "You seem troubled. "

I gulped. "I am troubled because. . . It is that I am not afraid of Alexander himself. It is _his _eyes that I am terrified of. On our third night, I looked over before I went to sleep, and I saw the brightness in his eyes. It felt like they were burning my face at their first glance toward me. He seemed to be more forceful and powerful than he should have been. "

"What did they seem like to you?" Mixlis wondered.

I sighed. I could have said the same thing as Metanedes. I began with what he said. "The eyes were as bright as sky and as dark as the pit of Tartarus. The blue was as bright as the sacred fire in the Temple at Marduk, and the black, it seemed to darken my face. The shininess. . . There's a shiny quality that I cannot explain. It is what gives his eyes their power. The light is like blades of steel emitting from his eyes, and they always seem to cut whoever looks into them into such small pieces that their thoughts are exposed, like flesh to the kites. He stares intensely and unwavering, and they. . . I can't go any farther. I would scream like Metanedes, but, I cannot. It would make me seem weak to the men. "

"Sire," Mixlis said gently, "they _know that you are afraid. They are afraid too, and they all know that there is almost nothing we can do about it. That is Alexander's nature. "

Mixlis stopped. "What do you call them?"

"What?"

"His eyes. What do they look like to you?"

"Fire. Blades of fire. "

"Is there a specific name for them?"

I gulped again. I had only disclosed this information to Alexander himself, and I did not want or wish to relive what had happened over the summer. "I call the shininess the Iris Fire. As for the whole eye, I call them x-blade eyes. X is the fact that they will always cut, like two crossed swords. The x can emit beams of power all over the earth once it is placed: north, south, east, and west, destroying all in its path. " Without realizing at first what was happening, I began to weep bitter tears. "I do not know what to do! I always try to look away, each time with more strength than the last. _Everybody who has angered him has tried to do so. Whoever has done so does not exist, for even in death, no man can escape the x-blade eyes. When they depart this life and board Charon's ferry, they can not hold their coin in their hands, for they shake with fright. When other shades ask of their cause of death, they, even in the realm of Hades, weep. When the asker wonders at their distress, they only sob more. "He is too strong!" they cry. "To those who must fight him in the years to come, may they live! Even as I say this, I know that this is futile. "

He is too strong for even the gods to control. If the goddess Athena, the god Ares, and if _Zeus _himself cannot restrain him, then _we mortals, numerous as we are, can do nothing! He will turn the army to ashes, and will possibly, even set the island ablaze, not with his torches, but with his eyes. "

I clutched Mixlis's hands, still weeping. "How can _I do terms with him? I will collapse at his gaze upon me! He knows my thoughts Mixlis!" I cried. "He _knows that I speak to you! He _knows my whole plan, though much of it is not formed in my mind. I agree with the shades. He is too powerful to fight! He will happily put us all to the sword. I have no power to stop him, _Athena has no power to stop him! Even _Zeus, the king of the gods himself, has no power to stop him. He could destroy Olympus and make the other Olympians his servants if he so desired. "

"Sire!" Mixlis said, cutting me off. "I do not know if I can fully agree with you. One thing that our foe and I have in common is that we both feel no fear. I know that you are terrified past belief, and even _I, who feels no fear, feels a tinge of weariness. Hear me now Sire. I swear on the Styx that I shall follow you, whatever you may do, wherever you may be, whichever position you may be in: second-in-command, common soldier, barbarian slave!"

"So shall I!" I turned around to find Aristander standing in the entrance. "I agree with Mixlis!" a Macedonian behind her cried. "Ptolemy!" I exclaimed.

"Yes! I will not let you discuss terms with my former commander without _me!"

"Or _me!" Perminion came in as well. He was fifty, thirty years older than most of us. He had more experience with our opponent than almost anyone, and his presence would probably remind him that he had helped him achieve his glory, though he happily gave the credit to him instead. "I shall carry out your wishes, and those of Philip. He knows now that he should have never abused his son. He also knows that if he had not done so, he would not have become so great. "

"When shall he arrive?" I wondered. My tears had stopped flowing, the wound in my heart was closing. It would only fully heal when the war was finished. It was well on its way, and that was good enough for me and my men.

"He is here now. " said Aristander. "Let us leave. "

I stood up and walked out of the tent. Here we go, I thought. It is now or never.

11

Minondass Ketchum

I stood in front of my tent with my Agayma around me. I awaited the one I was to parley with, feeling a mixture of optimism and fear grow inside me. I have negotiated with him before with some success. How will I fair today? My enemy has fought in many more battles than I, he has more negotiation experience than I, and on top of that, he is my friend, now made my enemy.

This is not even the first time that we have clashed, but the second. I am dealing with a part of history where masses of knowledge of all kinds, not just that of war, was given to only the best of people, just like him. They would stand alone among everyone else, who were mostly illiterate or ignorant. This left everyone to the ignorance of everyone else, and this information was used very affectively as well. How can I compete?

"Sire," Aristander said softly in my ear. "He is at the center of camp already. Come. "

I followed the seer to the told area to find the whole army amassed there. Every unit was in force, and everyone was grouped in a massive circle around several chairs and a table.

Alexander was already there, and he stood as my Royal Guard approached.

I sat across from him, with Aristander at my right shoulder and Mixlis at my left. My foe was garbed exactly how Metanedes had described. Alexander wore no armor, not even a helmet or cuirass. A simple black cloak flowed from his neck, pinned at the throat with a red broach. His customary bronze-tipped sandals were on his feet, and the sword belt from Rhodes was at his waist.

He was also armed with a variety of weapons. Several daggers, each about as long as a pencil and barely twice as thick, were slotted in the belt. A leather sling was around his left arm, and a dart gun looped around his neck. This particular dart gun was placed under the tongue, which would be used to depress the trigger, while the lips were in an o-shape. When the tongue pressed down on the trigger, one of ten darts would be released. I had used one before, and I had heard of darts from a gun like it flying forty feet, if not more. I had only a dagger and my pokeballs on my belt, and the lack of arms on my person made me feel vulnerable, even with my Agayma standing around me.

He spoke first. "Considering what has happened over the past months, it is clear that you wish to discuss terms. "

I nodded. "What do you want from me and my army? I have fought you once, and I did not think I would do so again. "

"Neither did I, but the Fates desired that we clash again, and we cannot go against them. As for my terms, they are simple. You shall surrender your army, you shall agree never to raise another army, and you shall agree to relinquish your command. You understand why I pose these terms, do you not?"

I understood. Alexander would not want an army hanging around or the potential of raising another to be present. He knew that if I kept my command, I could do this, and even if I couldn't make an entirely new force, I would try to find my original one and reunite it. "Your terms are very simple," I said, "and I know why you wish me to follow them. What else do you have to tell me?"

"You may choose to follow any combination of these terms you desire. If you except my last term only, you will be my permanent second-in-command. You could be my diplomat. You could hold higher honors than you would ever earn now. You could become as great as how I was before I returned. You could have histories written of you, portraits made of you, cities named after you. You and I would be a pair that no other in history could rival. "

I was tempted to accept these terms right now, to end the war. I knew that _that was what Alexander was counting on, though. He had worded his offer so that it would be irresistible to someone like myself. That was how well he knew me. He was playing with my mind, using his words and the mere sound of his voice. It flowed up and down in enticing cadences, with sweet, seductive notes underlying everything. Even below that, there was a low note that resonated of power, one that only he could produce. I resisted the powers of his voice and responded. "Before I decide on What I desire to do with your terms," I said, trying to keep my quavering voice level, "I shall present you with my own. They are simple as well. I shall remain in command under you if you promise never to take up arms against me again. When it comes to rank, my terms will be just like yours. I will acknowledge that you are my conqueror, and," I took a risk, "I shall allow you full commander status while I will serve in whichever position you see fit for me. "

Alexander looked pleased with my terms. The slightest trace of a smile crossed his lips. I thought he would accept my terms at once, but the smile vanished as fast as it had appeared. "As tempting as these terms sound," he said, words as melodic as ever, "I can not accept them. You did not include an agreement saying that _you _yourself would never take up arms against me once my status was obtained. Would you expect me to take up command and trust you outright?"

"True. I did not create terms like that Alexander," I admitted. "However, I cannot agree with your terms either, for what you have said of my terms is also excluded in your own. "

"Quite so. I, however, included the condition of not raising another army and the ability to choose which terms you will abide, knowing that there would be no way for any force you may manage to gather to rival me. I am not worried about that. "

"Your changed!" Aristander breathed in my ear, sounding like she had made an astonishing discovery. "The omen of the burned buildings, it is coming true! _Your transformation was the negative change. Minondass, when did Setamades tell you the other seers warned of the change?"

"He said that they burned at the end of September. That was about two weeks before we met the guys from Battles B. C. "

"What should I do?" Aristander asked. She had her eyes downcast, facing away from not only me, but who I was parleying with.

"Do not look. By all the gods, don't look. But," I continued, changing the subject, "I can not surrender. I have to make sure that the League doesn't fight itself again. Alexander," I faced my former commander, "I have to make sure that our league does not fight itself like how it had back in May. It is not just. It is necessary that I defeat you. I have to finish what I had begun back in May. "

Alexander smiled slightly. He focused on me with those eyes, and he slowly extended a hand for me to shake. "I understand your terms and what you must do. I shall leave now. But," he smiled wider, "you shall have no more parleys with me. You shall see me in armor, your camp ablaze, your best officials at my feet, begging to have me spare their lives. You shall receive what you have wished. "

Alexander rose to his feet and smiled once more. "As for your seer Aristander, she shall have to meet my gaze sooner or later. You will, very soon. " He bent down to look Aristander in the eyes, and she tried to stand, held in place by Alexander's paralyzing stare. She tried to turn her head toward me, to say "Sire, I shall leave now. " However, she could do none of those things.

At last, to escape the Great's nonphysical grip, she pulled a dagger from its sheath and slashed at his throat.

Faster than I could see, though standing close by, Alexander broke Aristander's dagger in two, and sent her flying, crashing into several men. They ran forward, drew their swords, and surrounded the man. "Stop!" I yelled, but to no avail. Men sprinted forward, blades outstretched, arrows flying, daggers poised to stab or throw. I grabbed a sword from a soldier standing nearby, and I charged into the fray once more.

12

Minondass Ketchum

_This _time, it was like the battle of Gaugamela all over again, both the second and most likely, the first. We were packed into a tight mass, all aiming to do the same thing: kill the king. I had the courage to disarm some of my own men to replenish my arms. We were all looking for Alexander now, not just my generals and I.

I heard screams and the fast clash of blades that could mean only one thing: my enemy was close. A man came running past me, with the black-cloaked figure at his heels. He slashed the sword, and the man fell before him.

Mixlis ran up to me. "Where is he?"

"He just left, after dispatching another man. Look out!" I yelled, and Mixlis dodged to avoid a blind volley of arrows by our archers. "We don't intend to fight one another, only him. Behind you!"

Mixlis turned to find a blade at his throat. He slashed, and his sword shattered as he did it. "What?" he whispered. "How is that possible?" Then he shook his head, despite the fact that he was at sword point. "I'm not even going to ask. "

He turned to his assailant. "What exactly are your intentions? You have conquered the world. What else could you desire?"

"Simple. I wish to go back in time and defeat Team Rocket when they were first founded. The Hellenic League shall have complete control over the world's governments, and my army shall be amassed in Macedon once again. The war in Iraq shall be ended before Nine Eleven, and many of the political scandals that have occurred would have never happened. You shall all become as famous as my generals, and I shall be the undisputed greatest military commander of all time. Nobody would even compare to myself in _any way, and I could have the same happen to you and Minondass. "

"Why would you want to kill your own men?" I asked.

"Simple. " he said again, as if the matter _was as simple as it sounded. "What does the blood of one hundred soldiers matter when it shall save one million civilians? That is what you said yourself in May, did you not?"

"Yes. " I said reluctantly, sighing. He had heard of my speech too. Merely another detail of my campaign that he knew that I had never told him.

I turned to Mixlis. "Did Olympias ever tell you how to put you two back together?"

"Well, she said that I would have to trap my attacker in this. " He touched a black pokeball at his belt. "She said that after releasing him, I would have to cut him with her knife, which I also have. "

Mixlis turned to Alexander. "This is the only way that not only your plan can be fulfilled, but ours. The Fates desire me to do this too. " He unhooked the pokeball from his belt. "Go X-ball!"

The pokeball began to emit a bright red light. It engulfed Alexander, whose hands thrust forward to pull us in along with him. Mixlis and I stepped away as the light shrank to a single point. With a thud, the pokeball fell to the ground.

We both picked it up and held it between us. "How long will he remain in here?" I asked.

Mixlis shook his head. "Olympias never said how long he would stay in there or how long the pokeball would hold out. I'm guessing that since he's very powerful and that anger only makes him stronger, it won't be very long anyway. " He raised the X-ball above his head, and immediately, the men around us fell silent. "My friends, we have managed to capture our foe! He shall be released very soon, and then, I shall put the two of us together in the same body once again. "

I heard many sighs of relief, and someone even shouted "Hallelujah!" I wanted to do so myself. At last, this insanity could end. Damn, if only I knew how wrong I was.

13

Alexander Alae Amon

How? How could such a stupid, upstart, cowardly commander ever trap _me? _I, the one who has conquered the Known World twice along with the rest of it? _I, who has raised another army more widespread than in my wildest dreams? _I, who has performed a pokemon move that rivals the damage of the most powerful hydrogen bomb, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and the power of _all of the world's nuclear weapons combined? _I, the Great!

Cursing my enemy will not get me anywhere. I stared around the smooth surface of the X-ball, wondering if there were any weak points that I could begin bombarding with energy. I slammed a fist into the wall and felt the surface respond to the blow with pain to my hand. I felt nothing, for this pain was not inflicted by my foe.

I could not detect the thoughts of my foe, who could have placed me anywhere: in a freezer, in a vat of hot oil, in a furnace, I would not have known the difference. He cannot trap me forever, I thought. He does not have the courage to do so. Besides, he knows that I will escape. I swore violently in ancient Greek and then checked myself. I should not waste my energy on anger. That must be done later. How, by Kyros and his love of Medians, will I break out of this prison?

The pokeball's interior was about the size of a football stadium, all spherical so there was no flat floor to walk on. I paced about, pausing every now and then to reach my mind out to try to touch that of my foe. I could not get past the walls. "They must be charmed, with quite powerful magic at that," I said aloud, tapping the black wall with a fingernail. "Leonardo must have instrumented this. He is very proficient in magic. "

I thought about how Leonardo normally devised his item protection methods. "He must have put his own energy into the protection of this pokeball. If I can just overwhelm the energy field around this blasted sphere, then I can be free. "

I closed my eyes and raised one hand to the ceiling. I put the other to the wall. I imagined all of the energy flowing out of me, like how I had in May. I concentrated on breaking the energy field at the one point where my hand touched the pokeball. As I increased the amount of power, I was met with resistance, the energy field becoming stronger as I pushed harder. "How could he?" I whispered in fury between clenched teeth.

then, I imagined infinite beams of power radiating from every point on my body, each one splitting the pokeball's charms open in one place, like needles breaking an eggshell. I made each beam of energy of ever increasing power, always allowing each one to be as strong as its fellows.

I was only met with stronger defenses, the energy field thickening as I applied more energy to it. "It cannot increase in strength forever. Leonardo knew that I would apply energy to my surroundings in an organized manner. Now," saying this I raised both hands above my head, "I shall prove Minondass wrong once more!"

I blasted the whole room with every iota of strength in my body, which was more than Minondass could ever conjure, and more than any of my fellows could ever _dream of summoning. The room shook, and I saw that the walls were beginning to melt. "More," I said, my words not even heard by my own ears. "I must channel more! Ēlectron!" My sword sprung from my hand, and even more energy flowed from me than before. The room filled with white light, and sparks flew from my uplifted hands, cascading down onto the floor and me. Flames licked at the walls, surrounding me in a ring of fire.

A second method of setting the room ablaze was present too. I felt the space behind my eyes become hotter and hotter, until I could keep them closed no longer. Beams of power spilled from them, hot as plasma and as sharp as my raised sword. The floor at my feet began to liquify, and soon, my sandals were covered in the pokeball's plexiglass and reinforced plastic. No wonder Olympias had called them x-blade eyes, I thought with increasing pleasure.

I began to feel Minondass's thoughts once more. This can't be! It is impossible! How?

I responded, aloud and mentally with a shout in Macedonian. "You cannot conquer me, for _I am your conqueror! Release me now, or I shall unleash my power without mercy! You have made a grave mistake in making your enemy _I, Alexander the Great!"

14

Minondass Ketchum

I looked down at the x-ball with pride. I had defeated him at last! I, Minondass, the prize of Thebes and Alexander's best!

Wait. What's happening? I wondered.

I knew that there was something wrong when the pokeball began to get hot. How could that be possible? This pokeball could have been sitting near the sun and it would have remained in tact. It was cold tonight, the wind turning my skin to ice. The pokeball's warmth was a comfort at first, warming my hands like a brazier. I pressed it up against my cheek and yelped. It had suddenly become so hot that it had burned me.

"Mixlis," I asked, confused, "what is going on with the X-ball?"

"I don't know, I'm not a pokeball-ologist, let alone an X-ball-ologist. That's Leonardo's job. But anyway, ow!" Like me, he winced as he felt the X-ball grow hotter and hotter. "What's happening to it?"

"It's still whole," I remarked weakly, holding onto my foe's prison with only my fingertips to prevent my hands from being burned. "What is he doing?"

"Only one thing is likely, he's. . . " said Mixlis, trailing off. First, he was grim, then shocked, then unable to speak. He could only stand there, staring at the X-ball like a statue straight out of Greek tragedy. He was Achilles mourning the loss of his lover, and in the case of Mixlis, the loss of my army, Tyre, and us.

"This can't be!" I whispered so softly that I could barely hear it myself. I nearly dropped the pokeball as its temperature increased to the point that it was so hot that I could not hold it. I dropped it to the ground and knelt beside it. "It is impossible!" I yelled, not caring that Mixlis stood only three feet in front of me. "How!"

"I told you that in anger, he becomes even more powerful. What should we do Sire?"

I covered my eyes with one hand while touching the X-ball with the other. A blade of foreign thoughts had entered my head, and they were ripping my current thoughts to bits. As if I was hearing it from someone standing next to me and from headphones, I heard a furious scream. "You cannot conquer me, for _I am your conqueror! Release me now, or I shall unleash my power without mercy! You have made a grave mistake in making your enemy _I, Alexander the Great!"

As the last word was uttered, the X-ball shattered in a million pieces in my hand, like if it was a glass ball that had exploded, not a plexiglass one. I lay flat on the ground to avoid the fragments, and Mixlis followed suit. We covered our heads with my shield, and because of this, I did not see the rest of the battle. That, as my foe had said not moments before, would be a grave mistake.

15

Minondass Ketchum

"Let go!" a woman screamed. "By all of the notebooks that Leonardo has in his tent, _let _go!"

I recognized the voice. It was Azelf's! I heard several thuds and a wince of pain close by.

"As the former commander of the Companion Cavalry," a Macedonian voice said, Hephaistion's most likely, "I demand you to release ah!" The man's yells joined those of my pokemon friend.

"What have you done!" Two soldiers yelled, and I automatically recognized them as Ptolemy and the actual Leonardo. I heard the unsheathing of daggers, and a crack. Their daggers were broken like my seer's had been hours before. Where is she? I thought. Tentatively, I peeked out from underneath the shield.

I could not believe my eyes. My generals all lay on the ground, weapons broken in a pile, all with scars on their arms and faces. Perminion lay between two officers, all three's blades melted, hilts still clutched hopelessly in their owners' hands. Beside Perminion, lay Aristander. She had scars on her forehead and sword arm, her blade shattered at her side. Her eyes were closed, but they fluttered open as she saw what part of me was out in the open. "Mi-minondass," she whispered, stammering. "H-help us. What h-he had s-said, it w-was t-true. "

I stood, casting the shield aside. Mixlis rose to join me. "How did you," I asked, my question trailing off as I realized how futile it would be to ask it. Of course it would have been easy to break the pokeball. He would have had to use much power to do so, which he possessed. He would merely need to strike the X-ball with enough of it, and he would be free.

"Ah, Minondass. Surprised that I am free? You should not have been. I know that you had been expecting it, and dreading it, all along. You knew that you could not trap me for as long as you wished. "

I sighed. "You are correct. I should have known better. "

"What shall you do with our fellow generals now?" Mixlis asked.

Alexander smiled, like all of those many other times he had smiled, all the times being bad for us. "I shall bring them back with me. They will be a great asset. We," he gestured at all of us, "shall be a group that no one could ever compare to. You shall all be immortalized in song, in portrait, in literary works. Most of all, _I shall be great again! All I need to do is convince your seer to give her magical powers to me. Her talents are perfect for this. "

"I will not!" she shouted, struggling to her feet. "I will not do your bidding merely due to the fact that my comrades are down and out! I was the first to fall first, now I will be the last to fall last!"

Aristander drew her sword, but it shattered to pieces in her hands. She unsheathed a dagger instead.

She stepped forward, and performed one slash at Alexander's throat.

I saw what he did to her this time. He lifted Aristander up into the air by her sword arm, took her dagger, and held it to her neck. She kicked and screamed, but was unable to release herself. Mixlis and I tried to help, our hands reaching for our swords. "No," she said weakly. "Do not try Sire. He is too powerful. " She bent down, still in mid air, and grasped Mixlis's hand, who lifted me onto his shoulders so she could do this to me too. "At least I shall perish with the relic that began this war," she said, grasping Mixlis's dagger instead. "If I go back in time, I can destroy this, and make sure that this war never occurred. You must come with me. "

I sighed. I was submitting again, like I always ended up doing. However this time, I could not refuse. If I did, Aristander would be gone.

Aristander took the knife and faced her assaulter. "Take my powers, then," she said boldly, "for they will not matter. I have another way of ending this war. "

With a high-pitched scream, so unexpectedly that even my former commander didn't know it was coming, Aristander sliced the dagger into Alexander's neck.

16

Minondass Ketchum

Garrison Camp, Tyre

November 7, 2010

The world around me was black. The sky was dark, the ground mirrored it, and every object around me was black. I had no idea where I was, or if I was even anywhere at all. I only felt something hard press up against my back, and everywhere else, my body felt weightlessness, or numb, or whatever you wished to call it.

My eyes were closed, and I was unsure of if they were closed since I was closing them, or if they were closed permanently. If I really am in Hades, I thought, how come I do not see Charon, or the river Styx, or the Fields of Asphodel?

Then, another feeling added to the hardness. It was on my arm: firm, gentle, and strangely familiar. I tried to open my eyes, and finding that I could, I opened them to behold an astonishing sight nearby. On my arm, there was my shield, still in tact. Its gold paint gleamed among what lay around me. Speaking of that, what the Hades _did lie around me?

I beheld an even more astonishing sight than my undamaged shield. The camp was gone.

Where my tent should have been, there were only ashes. None of the old sections of the walls of Tyre remained. The expanse of flat charred earth was not scary to me. In fact, it was merely familiar. "This is what Thebes looked like, what Tyre looked like," I said, surprised to even hear my voice again. "This is what Tyre looked like when he first took siege upon it. It has been razed again. "

I was lying near a long shiny object. Could it be? Could it be my blade? I reached toward it and grasped the hilt. It _was my sword. I may have to use it, too.

I began to walk toward the site where my parley had turned into a battle, eyes downcast, not wanting to behold the horrible scene that may lie there. I found nothing of the sort. Instead, two people greeted me. "Minondass!" shouted one. I looked up and saw Aristander, smiling despite her wounds. "We've been looking for you!"

I held out my arms, and Aristander picked me up. "What do you mean we?"

"Maria and me. " The Battles B. C creator shrugged at the seer's side. "Aristander teleported back to Pallet, and told Rocky and I what happened. We came as quickly as we could, and we couldn't find you. The camp is gone, as well as the rest of the city. "

"Maria," I wondered, "if you two are alive, then where is everyone else?"

"They're in Pella. But, when everybody figured out that you hadn't come back with us, the king sent for me to come look for you, dead or alive. "

"Okay. Wait, why in Pella?"

"It's a surprise for the king. He is the only one in Pallet right now. Let's go. "

Maria and Aristander held me between them, while Aristander took the Transport pokemon card from her deck.

We vanished and reappeared somewhere unburned, and very familiar and friendly.

We were standing in Alexander's room beside the window. Everything was how I remembered it: the Iliad-related mosaic on the ceiling, the bookshelves next to the Wii and sixty-inch TV, the shelf of notebooks, each labeled with the title of a book we had read, containing Alexander's analysis of each one. The notebooks' owner had his back to us, but turned around when he heard us come in. "Minondass!" he cried, and he embraced the three of us.

"Sire!" Aristander said, disengaging herself with difficulty from his embrace. She took several deep breaths. "How long were you here?"

"Five hours. I didn't think it would take you so long to find Minondass, but you did take that long. "

My heart raced with joy at hearing Alexander talking about not wanting to kill me. Aristander had risked her life and it had paid off. ` "Seeing you at sword point made me realize that I wasn't the one who would put us back together," he said. "I knew that since _you were so in touch with the magic involved, you were destined to do so, not me. "

"Thank you Sire," Aristander said honestly. "Let's meet with the others now. They're probably starting to get worried. "

"Where we going?"

"It's somewhere you've always wanted to go to, but have never had time to go to. " Aristander took Alexander's arm, shouting "Transport!"

The first thing I recognized was the room. It was the same room that we had gone to first when we arrived in Pella back in May: Alexander's room. He stared around, first confused, thinking we had teleported someplace random, then recognition at seeing the yellow marble floor. "Could this be?" he said slowly, "where I think we are?"

"Where do you think we are?" I asked.

"No. " He shook his head, disbelieving. "This can't be Pella. "

"Oh, it _is Pella Sire," Aristander said. "You are at last in the place of your conception, the place where you first made your mark on the world, the mark that first impacted Lionidas, then Demosthenes, on Aristotle, and Darius! You have had your wish granted, for this second life has allowed you the privilege of seeing your homeland. If there is _any other desire,, an item that you seek to be in your possession that is not already there, do not hesitate to ask, for the Hellenic League and I shall work unceasingly to put it into your hands. "

"Why so formal?" he asked at first. Then, he took a short breath and began to speak more slowly, enunciating every word with care, letting his accent take over. His consonants became much sharper and his vowels were smoother and more graceful than usual. He rarely talked this way. He only talked like this when he wanted to discuss philosophical topics, when he desired to give speeches, or if he felt like talking about Greek values. When he talked English, slang and apostrophes in all, he sounded almost American, but when he talked with no contractions, his accent could easily be heard. These times were some of the few times when I remembered who he was and where he came from. I listened intently, for everyone who heard these speeches enjoyed them, even if they couldn't fully understand them. "You know that though I am your commander, I am as much at the mercy of you as you are at the mercy of I. If I ask something of you, I know that you shall give it to me ten times over, and if you shall ask something of me, I shall give it to you one hundred fold, for you have always done much more work than I. I carry out your wishes, while you have to think over if they are worthy of me. You have to fight, while I am a Peltast, running in and out to where the fighting is not heavy. Many people say that I have much valor in battle, but I merely fight for the spoils that the battle reaps, not for fame or for a respectable reputation. "

"Sire! That is untrue! You have always charged into the fray like the rest of us, going where the fighting is the hardest and bloodiest. You have confidence that no one can rival. You have tactics that no one can rival, even now. Last of all, you care for us Sire. You are willing to sit with the common foot soldier who will tell you his problems, thinking that they are not worth your interference. But, you listen patiently and give the best advice you can give, much to the soldier's surprise. He walks out of your tent thinking "I am glad I went to the king, for he is brilliant everywhere: in battle, in parley, and in aiding his men. " You truly deserve your title "Alexander the Great. "

Alexander stared at me in surprise and admiration. "Minondass, I have no idea why I gave that short speech about how hard we both work, I was too caught up in it. Why are we here?"

I laughed, thinking that Alexander would have figured out why we were here a while ago. "We are here so you can see your officers and your army Sire! It is proper, is it not? In addition, the men want to see how you fair.

17

Minondass Ketchum

I turned to Aristander. "How about you tell them we're here and keep them busy? This shall be a formal Macedonian feast, and I want to garb the king in the attire that suits his station. "

"Okay!" Aristander turned to leave, but she said over her shoulder "I'll be at the drill field. Take as long as you want. "

"Wait. Aristander," the king asked, "why do you and other people think so highly of me? I know that I've done some amazing things, but isn't one man as equal in rank as another?"

"Sire," Aristander said, "equal in rank you may look, but your deeds are what set you apart. A man's deeds are what make him rise above and fall below others. You have done amazing things, good and bad, but your character is that of strong influence. You are a natural leader, though virtually all the time you don't know it.

Aria had told you back in 2009 how our government worked. She had said that in the United States, social classes do not exist. Though she is correct, she forgot to mention that a person's deeds are how you gain a reputation. You could be a tramp and yet had accomplished astounding feats and you would be elevated to high status, while you could be rich and committed dastardly crimes.

I also know that you will ask something else: why do they call you "Alexander the Great?"

He nodded. "I _was going to ask that. "

"After your death, over the centuries, historians and ordinary people alike began to wonder if there were those in history who were in status above the rest. Even those you thought you a despot acknowledged to some degree that you _were an amazing figure, when alive and when they wrote and spoke. Modern historians at one point realized that there had to be a way that you would be remembered, in ways other than your accomplishments. The Great was a title only reserved for the most important person of the name, and you were, and still are. People know that others have this title, but _you Sire, were the first Westerner to receive it. You were so renowned that even before you came back, Greek sailors used your name as a good luck talisman to keep their boats from being destroyed in a storm. Statues of you were often placed in offices and in other places to inspire leaders.

People did not expect you to not know of this. You knew that you were famous during your own time, but you did not expect your name to be so influential nowadays. In fact, some of our Hellenic League soldiers with your first name have changed them because they think that if they share your name, they will shame it. Everybody wants you to know of your greatness, and now, you do. You have seen it in many ways, and only now when I say them, I know you can truly try to imagine their scope. "

Alexander was awed. He kept staring at Aristander like she had given a speech in front of the Assembly in Athens, making even her enemies love her. "I _do know now. No wonder everyone is so unbelievably respectful to me. I finally know why it's so hard to be ignored by anyone and everyone and why everyone seems to know me. Thank you Aristander. Go now. The men might begin to get worried even if _you don't show up. "

Aristander left, a brilliant light in her eyes. This happened whenever anyone pleased Alexander. No one knew how easy Alexander could be pleased. Even I never knew when he would be pleased, and I understood Aristander's happiness. She left with enough confidence to give a speech to the world, I thought. If only I can feel like that. Can I please the king as much as she did?

18

Minondass Ketchum

I knelt and stared up at the king. I looked up at him and contemplated his face. His blond hair, tucked inside a shining helmet with white wings, as fair as ever. His long nose and high cheekbones, his mouth set in a line, neither smiling or frowning, like in his sculptures. His figure, sixteen inches taller than it had been before, worn from many battles, but still as light and fast as a boy's.

The last thing I saw. . . those eyes. I used to be frightened of them, used to think that they were pits of fire, waiting to burn their next victim. Now, I only saw brightness, energy-filled, enthusiastic, admiring brightness. The eyes looked back at me, not in anger, wishing to see my head and those of my officers on a spike, but with pride. His vitality and energy seeped into my body, and I felt it. Warmness spread throughout my body, as I slipped gracefully from kneeling to lying prone on the floor. I kissed the yellow marble at his feet in deep respect.

Alexander bent down and took my hand in his own. "Minondass. " He said my name in Greek, knowing that I would understand. We would have our moment now, friend and friend instead of soldier to soldier. "Your accomplishments over the past month and the past six months could have equaled my own. They are less than mine, of course, but they are worthy of note nonetheless. They are even more so since you are a pokemon. No other pokemon could have done what you had done. You have proved that pokemon are not just pets of the trainer, property that does not need caring for, but intellects, philosophers, soldiers, and most of all, leaders. "

I felt tears roll down my cheeks. He used the edge of his own chiton to wipe them away. "I do not know what to say," I stammered. "You honestly think that I am worthy of being your second-in-command? Your successor?"

"Of course. If it had been one of my generals, they would not have thought anything of it. You put your time, mind, and passion into it. "

Alexander stood with me in his arms. "Now, are you going to garb me or not?"

First came on the sandals, with gold studs and bronze heel and toe. The chiton, white with purple borders and gold thread replaced his old one. Next I took the girdle, the black sword-belt of Rhodes, carved with intricate designs and more gold thread, and clasped it around his waist. The cuirass, with the pokeball as an emblem instead of the archaic Macedonia inspired lion, covered his chest and back.

The poketch came next, its gold shining in the light. I slipped the king's wrist into it with care, knowing that it was Aria who had bought it for him to show him the extent of her hospitality. It was what had set off his pokemon training career, what had given him his ribbons, and what had given him his new reputation. It deserved to be tended gently for the king's sake.

His helmet, worn with war and splashed with blood came off, replaced by his favorite hat: a black and red baseball cap, the red forming a pokeball design on the rim. He tapped the pokeball, and the cap turned into a black, silver, and red helmet with white wings.

Last came the king's cloak. I unfolded a purple cloak from a nearby clothes-chest and swung it around his shoulders. He had to hold me in the air so I could do it. I took the broach from its case. It was a Greek alpha painted black, red, silver, and gold, comprised of paints from the Phoenicians, gold from Babylon, and a joint forged of the shiniest steel from Pella. I clasped it on him, and he lowered me to the ground.

From my low vantage point, I admired his finery. "You truly look like a god Sire!" I praised. "You shall make Zeus jealous!"

Alexander paced about, looking in a mirror sidelong. He never looked in a mirror directly, always in passing. He didn't have to worry about his appearance very often. "You look like, okay, um, I don't know actually how to say this politely. Here. " Alexander took a cloak from another chest, unfastened my old one, and put it on me. He lifted my helmet off and replaced it with a thin gold circlet. "You may keep the circlet. It's too small for me. And it fits your station. "

"Thank you Sire-" "Please," he said. "Call me Alexander. Sire is creepy when it's not used right. Only do so when it's necessary. "

I laughed. "Okay, Alexander. I can't wait to see what the men will think of you!"

19

Alexander Alae Amon

The first things I saw were the men.

They were grouped together by unit, each one lined up in battle order: Companions at the right, hoplites behind them next to the phalanxes, archers on the wings. They sat at long tables around a high dais.

As Minondass and I came out of the palace, I saw that everybody was watching Aristander, who stood at the foot of the dais. She was watching the doors.

As we emerged, she called to us in greeting. "Here they are!" she cried, lifting her arms to the sky. "Welcome, Minondass the Prodigious!"

I saw Minondass stare in shock at the seer and the men. "When did I deserve that title? Wait. When did you give me the title?"

"While you were gone!" She laughed, as if Minondass's confusion was amusing. I knew that he knew that he deserved some honorable name besides his normal one. "Come Minondass!" She beckoned to him.

Her eyes fell on me next. "Sire! Alexander!"

The men cheered, banging utensils on plates, stamping feet, clapping hands. "Alexander! Alexander!" they all cried. As one, they stood and heading toward me. They crowded close: touching my clothes, shaking my hand, weeping at seeing my face.

"My friends!" I cried. "I have at last returned to my homeland, and I think it's awesome!"

The mens' cheers redoubled at once.

"Sit Alexander!" one man said. I recognized him at once as being Setamades. "You have waited too long to be away from us, especially too long from being in Pella. "

I obliged and took a seat at the head of the table, gesturing for Aristander and Minondass to sit at either side of me. "I am glad that you have come!" Ptolemy said, shaking my hand vigorously. "Mixlis would have been delighted to meet you. "

"Where is he?" I wondered.

Ptolemy grew somber. "Maybe Aristander told you before you got here, maybe she didn't. Apparently, when she fused you back together, it worked. He went into you along with your other self. He is still here, but in your body. He is here. "

"It is a shame that he did not get the chance to see this with his own eyes in his own body. But," I said, standing and grasping my glass, "I call for a toast. " The men fell silent. "To the gods!"

"To the gods!" they echoed.

"To Minondass the Prodigious!" I added.

"To Minondass!"

Minondass stood too, glass held high. "To Aristander the All-seeing!"

"She has a title?" the men said all at once.

"He does," he said, laughing. "I made it up. To make up for her doing so for me!"

"To Aristander the All-seeing!"

"Wait!" a man shouted. Philip came running up to the dais from the crowd, glass in hand. "I have one last toast. " He took a place beside me, beaming with a smile and with his eyes. "To Alexander!"

"To Alexander!" The soldiers roared various acclamations: blessings, compliments, wishes that I would have a long reign. "My son, I had told you that Macedonia is too small for you," he said, tears falling down his cheeks. "Now, I say something like that here. The world's praise is too big! You can never acknowledge _everyone!"

I embraced him. "If it had not been for you, I would not be here, Father. You deserve this praise as much as I do. "

"Oh really Sire?" Philip said, chuckling. "Then, listen to this. Strike up the paean!" A band of flutists, drummers, singers, and guitarists came forward. These guys were our army musicians, soldiers who were practiced in music as well as with weapons. We used them as metronomes, their singing rhythm being the one that officers would have their men drill to the sound of. First, each person raised their instruments in salute. "What will they play?" I asked.

"A song that I found in your room once. It seemed noteworthy, so I gave it to our paean guys. Hit it!" I stepped to the front of the band, they began to play, and I sung along with my men.

"His unmatched name is known throughout

the entire world

All the same I use

my humble lips

to spread his very words.

He once said to me, "All leaders rival me

followers exist worldwide

because you see...

Zeus loves us all

but those he holds most dear

He makes so much the better

I raise my voice

so everyone can hear

If he wanted

someone just like me

to take a higher position

I would do so happily,

Thanks to him and since

I have passed his test

now and eternally you will speak to

the best of the best of the best. "

"I speak of my victories

never in just in a pass

I know of what is my legacy

and it will always always last.

There will not be a single man

in any hamlet city or town

who has not heard of me

someway or somehow.

What Ptolemy has said

I know it to be true,

But what you moderns do not hear

I will say to you."

"Zeus loves us all

but those he holds most dear

He makes so much the better

I raise my voice

so everyone can hear

If he wanted

someone just like me

to take a higher position

I would do so happily,

Thanks to him and since

I have passed his test

now and eternally you will speak to

the best of the best of the best.

Thanks to you and your praise

I stand above the rest

your efforts have forever made me

the best of the best of the best."

In relief in temples in Egypt

in coins minted all over the world

In master portraits

in historians' books

in thinkers wisdom

and in poets' verse.

Was the oracle wrong

in saying he would

conquer the whole of the globe

Unfortunately, he will never

fully or truly know.

In arts wars and culture

he will always lead

masterfully with hands

that have done so before and even today

are planning

A brand-new Greek design

that we unknowingly heed

Despite his achievement

says Macedon's king...

"Zeus loves us all

but those he holds most dear

He makes so much the better

I raise my voice

so everyone can hear

If he wanted

someone just like me

to take a higher position

I would do so happily,

Thanks to him and since

I have passed his test

and now and eternally you speak to

the best of the best of the best."

THE STATE OF POWER

(Amonniad Series Six)

by Aristander Telmizzen Esteron

Zeki Cacie Mysterio

and Pauline Ugalde

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.

1023 Rictron St.,

Pallet Town CA, 12345

Maps, cover art, and portraits copyright © 2010 by Athena Brazion. Text copyright © 2010 by Aristander Telmizzen Esteron, Zeki Cacie Mysterio, and Pauline Ugalde. All rights reserved.

Reprinted outside of the Hellenic League Archives with permission by Alexander Alae Amon.

The distribution of this material may be done without permission unless it will be published in magazines or web sites. You must do this, or else the King shall find out. He can do that.

To Carol Nolan, my seventh grade science teacher, for telling me about DNA and its potential,

And to the historical Ptolemy and Roxane, for their inspiration,

And to Alexander, god or otherwise, who I know will return, one way or another.

Prologue: Death and a Life

June 11, 323 B.C.

Royal Palace at Babylon, Iraq

Ptolemy stared grimly at the crowd of Macedonians from the balcony of the royal bed chamber. They were gathered in front of the royal palace at Babylon.

Their king, Alexander, son of Philip, had slipped out of their reach only a day before, and all were grieving, especially Ptolemy. "Even though his campaigns did get crazy before we got here, in the end, he was a brilliant commander. He helped whoever needed help, and he destroyed whoever wanted to fight him. He was a man of extremes."

Ptolemy wasn't the only one who was mourning, but Aristander, Alexander's seer, standing next to him, was too. He hung his head and didn't make eye contact with anyone. "He had led us with courage and daring that no one will ever-" "Ptolemy," Aristander whispered in his ear. "May I speak?"

"Sure." Aristander raised his head and looked boldly at the men. "Everyone, at first, it may seem that all is lost and that there is no hope for our army."

"There never was hope!" one veteran shouted. "We were doomed from the start. He overworked us and spent all his money on war and luxuries and not on our welfare. He deserved to die!" This veteran had fought in the royal division of the Lancers and he had served under Philip too. He disapproved of Alexander's actions from the start. He only wanted to fight on the Agean seaboard, not the whole continent.

"That may be true right now, seeing that our leader, who was so passionate for us, has left us. But, I have a plan to save us and it's almost done.

Earlier today, I met with Roxane, Alexander's Sogdian wife. She was shivering with shock when she heard the news of his death. When she saw me though, she was relieved. She showed this to me." Aristander took a small gold amulet from his pocket. There was a gold Alpha carved in the center. It shone brilliantly in the light and was so dazzling that even people in the back of the crowd could see it clearly. "She received it from Darius on the night they met. He said that it would come in handy if someone she knew was going to die or if they already had. She told me only a seer, a very experienced seer, could make the amulet work.

If the right spell is said over it, it can take the person's memories and their image and place it into the amulet. It is not their soul, for these memories are not permanent. These memories can be changed as time passes and by the gods while the person is in the amulet."

"You lie!" Another man yelled. "You do witchcraft with the enemy!"

"This is for our benefit. This will benefit us for a long while. Can you let me finish my business please?" The man fell silent. "Now," Aristander raised his voice, "I shall perform the spell. I have worked very hard on it, and I feel that it will fulfill its duties."

Aristander took a deep breath. Then, in ancient Greek that was so pronounced that everyone in the city, even people who weren't present, knew it was being said, he began.

"Oh Zeus, the leader

the one who leads us all

The one who instigated

Alexander's fall

When one who pretends

to know Ptolemy in the future

the Placer

goes on his modern path,

He shall sacrifice his life

for our leader to live

after he feels his

now gained

divine wrath!"

A flash lit the amulet and the two men. There was a click from the door of the royal bed chamber behind Ptolemy and Aristander as it swung open.

The crowd stared at the general and the seer in shock. No, they weren't looking at _them. Were they staring at something behind them?

Aristander turned around. "It is him!" he whispered.

Ptolemy turned around too. It _was his leader, in the flesh. He looked exactly like how he did in life: blonde hair flowing down to his shoulders, an impressive yet somewhat short stature, an heir of command emitting from his gaze as it fell on them both.

Alexander gestured at the seer and the amulet. "Sire, you are, here." Ptolemy was just as shocked as Aristander.

"Not for long. Aristander, did you charm the amulet? I am ready."

Aristander nodded. "But, how are you here when you're dead? The spell hasn't done its job yet."

"I am not physically here. This is the embodiment of my memories in a somewhat tangible form, as you said. I am ready." He said again.

Aristander held the amulet out to Alexander. He closed his hand around it and Ptolemy could see it glow, even through his fingers. The image vanished, and the door closed.

The amulet fell into Ptolemy's hand. "Do we put this along with Alexander's body now?" Ptolemy asked. "The embalmers are nearly finished."

Aristander shook his head. "You have to bless it and give your consent to whatever will happen when this person finds the amulet. Will you give it?"

"I will." He straightened his back and squared his shoulders. "I, Ptolemy, son of Laeggis, give my blessing. Whatever Alexander will do to the person who finds this amulet will be fine with me. May your plan succeed."

1: The Finding

Vergina Macedonia

Tom Sellis and Zeki Mysterio stared at the hole they had dug. "Do you think this is the place?" Tom asked.

"I'm certain this time." Zeki was confident. "Help me haul it up." A gold coffin emerged from the ground, suspended by leather ropes.

Zeki and Tom were two archaeologists who studied ancient Greece, especially Alexander the Great. Both of them had studied at UC Berkley and they had been there for four years of college and three additional years learning the tricks of their trade. They had both received their degrees at the end of the previous year.

At the beginning of this year, they had arrived in Macedonia to carry out their excavation. They were supposed to be back in the United States in two weeks, regardless of if they found anything or not. They were desperate, so thank the gods that they found this.

"Let's get back to the house and this to the vault. When we leave, we will all have a long flight home."

Two weeks later, as the pair stepped onto their plane, Zeki looked sadly back at the air strip. There was no official airport, only a small plane that would fly them home. "Are you sad about leaving?" he asked Tom.

Tom was too occupied with their find to answer. He delicately placed it in a crate at the back of the plane. "It was interesting, but I've been on more productive searches plenty of times before."

"But Sellis," Zeki insisted, "it may have taken us years to get here and we may have wasted some of our time, but we did it! Aren't you grateful for that?"

Tom nodded and sat in his seat. "I guess so. Mysterio, sit down. We have to get home."

Sanfran Cisco International Airport

Sanfran Cisco, California

"What do you think was your motivation to help you find this treasure?" a news reporter asked. Her camera was trained on Zeki, Tom, and their find. The trio were standing outside the airport, with luggage stacked to one side and somewhat tired from the flight.

Tom smiled. "It was because of Ptolemy. He helped me. I have his blood, you know. Because of that and since Ptolemy was the one to construct Alexander's tomb, I was able to find it."

"Where will you bring the coffin now?" the reporter asked.

"Oh, we're on our way to Sanfran Cisco's Archaeological Center for Biological Analysis," Zeki replied. "There, they have some of the best DNA analysis equipment around, so we're going to research there." The reporter walked away.

An hour later, The pair turned down a side street and walked towards a building with a sign on the door that said: Archaeological Center for Biological Analysis, like Zeki had said earlier. They went inside confidently and intent on their work. I hope that this isn't another fruitless search. Tom was skeptic, but somewhat hopeful. We have to have found something.

This was more than just the work of two archaeologists studying ancient artifacts. If only they knew that they weren't just researching a ruler who was long dead. If only they'd known that one of them was more than an archaeologist. If they knew that in just a month's time, one of them would never exit this building again, they would have flown back to Macedonia at once to place the coffin back where it belonged.

If only they _could put it back where it belonged. Well, that was not what the gods willed.

2: The Sky God's Son

The Amon Residence, Pallet Town, California

Zeus stared grimly at his son's step-father, sitting at the table across from him. He had come to see Philip today to receive some help with executing his plan. Well, he, Philip's, and their son's plan, now. "Where is he?" he asked.

The square-jawed, thick-set, Macedonian man shrugged. "He is with me. I took him to the movies before you arrived, wanted to soften the blow when it came. He is waiting outside. In fact, he requested himself that you come here, Zeus. Do not get the impression that I do not like having you here. It is necessary. I would be more corgial if the circumstances allowed it. Alas, they do not. Alexander!" he called. "Zeus is here!"

Alexander emerged from a door behind Philip. This Alexander was very different from the one that had been placed in the amulet by Aristander on that hot, Babylonian day. One thing that made him very different: he was taller. He was more than a foot taller than he was before, seven feet tall to be exact. The doorway was too short for him to walk through. He also had an even stronger heir of command and authority around him than before that even the god could not ignore. There was also an element of a craving for something, something he knew only he could want and get, that everyone felt. I am beginning to question making him a Greek god, the lord of the sky thought grimly and a little wearily. Think about how much trouble it has caused. Only two months ago, he had fought his second war with the Hellenic League. Where I will be sending him, he may fight his third war.

He approached Zeus and sat in a chair at his side. "What shall you do to me now?"

"Your transformation is complete, as I am sure you know. In February of this year, I upgraded you myself, giving you the blessing to become a Greek god, the power to use lightning like me, the ability to use Greek as a magic medium, and other powers. Later on, Aristotle enforced these abilities, especially your magic and your mental attacking capacity. However, as we had discovered, by doing so, he made your mind control so strong that it could control someone completely merely by you looking at them. You have learned how to master this gift, yes?"

"I have. Well, I know though that I can never truly have a completely firm grip on this power of mine. It happens even when I do not mean it to, very weakly, but enough for everyone around me to notice."

Zeus shuddered a little. "Even _I feel it, my son. I am the ruler of the gods, and I am susceptible to a once-mortal's strength." He said this honestly, for even now, he could not help submitting a tiny amount of his control to the Macedonian sitting beside him. He did not even try to get it back. He could not, as long as he was in his life.

"To continue. Athena, Leonardo, and I have discovered that we are not alone."

Alexander's eyes grew wide. This, Zeus thought, is when I know that he still thinks he's mortal. He still thinks he's mortal most of the time. Typical Alexander. He suppressed a smile. "Aliens exist?" he said in his "I'm asking a very weird question that probably almost all Americans know the answer to" voice.

Zeus chuckled. "No no, not like that. _Other _people exist. What I mean is is that parallel universes, with people who are fully evolved, exist. I have met with your engineers and scientists, who have made equipment that can detect a civilization's energy usage, especially electrical and thermal energy usage."

"What information have you gathered from this?" Philip asked.

"Quite a bit, actually. We have found out that this universe, this Earth, is just like ours. Its population is the same, its geography the same, with a couple major exceptions. Pokemon do not exist there. Magic does not exist obviously there. Even we, your father Philip, myself, yourself, everyone in the Hellenic League, do not exist there. In this world, you are dead."

Alexander's eyes widened again. "Dead?" he repeated. "How can that be?"

"Well, as I have said, there are no obvious signs of magic or any of the technological advances we have. You have been dead for more than 2300 years there, and your tomb has not been found either."

"So, I'm not actually alive?"

"No you are, just, as far as your scientists and I know, you are alive only here."

"Why can't I remember dying there, then?"

"That is because this universe and ours are separate. There was a copy of you there, who conquered the world like you did, but died and was never found like you, until February of 2009 at least. I suggest that you launch an investigation with your scientists to see if you can access this world. From what we have found, we have discovered that two archaeologists, Tom Sellis and Zeki Mysterio, have found your tomb. We can send you there. You will still be alive, just not alive enough that instruments can detect it."

"I'll do it." was Alexander's short, eager answer. Zeus placed a gold amulet on the table. "My assumption is that since you are not from this new universe, you can defy their laws of physics. This amulet should be able to teleport you there."

Alexander reached for the amulet and grasped it in one fist. He vanished.

"What will happen?" Philip asked the god after a short silence.

"Only the gods know," Zeus said, "and since I do not technically control this universe, I do not know what will happen. He can use the amulet to come back. He will be safe."

Zeus stood from his seat. "It is a pleasure to have done business with you Philip. I am off to Olympus. I must help Athena monitor Alexander's progress." With a bright flash of light, Zeus was gone.

Philip sighed and stared at where his son once sat. He had changed so much: from regent to world conqueror to god. Now, he would be known on other worlds. "I hope that you know what adventure you are embarking on," Philip said to the empty room and to Alexander's empty chair. "May you succeed, my son, Zeus's son."

3: Cracking the code

Archaeological Center for Biological Analysis

Sanfran Cisco, California

Tom stared intently at his computer. He saw the various DNA codes, written in red, sprawl before him. "Do these patterns match those of Philip?" he asked Zeki, his assistant. He had received these codes from an archaeologist in Macedonia, the same one that had found Philip in 1972.

"They do. They show the traits of Olympias as well as those of Philip." Zeki confirmed. "Strangely, it's more perfectly preserved than I thought. I even saw the DNA molecules' twisted ladder design myself." As he said this, his blue eyes went slightly out of focus in wonder.

"Did you get the external measurements?" asked Tom.

Zeki shook his head. "I'll do that now, Sir." He rushed away.

Tom's dark eyes followed his comrade out of the room. They had been working on analyzing this mummy for weeks. They had received all of their data, mainly the right DNA and the right location in Macedonia. All they had to do was measure things like the weight, height, and mass of their specimen. He brushed his light sandy bangs out of his eyes to examine the code on the screen, each letter representing one of four main chemicals in the DNA.

AGCTAGCCTT

CGGGGGTTAT

CTCGTCTCTAC

CGGTGCCCCC

CTTGCTTCCT

GTGCTCGTCT

CGCGGGTTCG

GCCCGCCTCC

TCGCTTATC

Meanwhile, Zeki continued his work on the mummy itself. He placed the sarcophagus next to a tape measure and calculated its dimensions. It was 7.5 feet long and 4 feet wide, and 3 feet high, entirely of solid gold, and its walls were about two inches thick. It weighed about trice his own weight, maybe more.

It was time to open it. Using steam and a fine-bladed knife, Zeki pried the lid off the top of the coffin, revealing its contents.

The mummy was about seven feet long, wrapped in hundreds of layers of resin bandages. It did not reek of 2000-year-old partly decayed flesh or of something that hadn't seen sunlight in that amount of time. It was odorless and looked a body that had been embalmed only yesterday. With gloves on his hands, Zeki lifted the body of Alexander the Great onto a long table, much like one that would be in an operating room. He was about to turn on special lights, visible, M-ray, ultra-violet, and infrared, to help him examine it, when he heard his colleague, Tom call him. "Get in here Zeki Mysterio. I have to show you a curious thing. Don't bring the body with you yet."

The two men looked at the DNA codes. "It seems," Tom pointed out, "that the DNA codes aren't very random in placement. Usually, it's not this organized, well, this part of it anyway."

"You're right," Zeki agreed. "You know, how you've grouped the letters A, C, G, and T in groups of ten, there does seem to be a pattern. It almost looks like words but blended together."

"I never thought of that. Can you perchance, interpret this code?"

Zeki's specialty was interpreting languages like ancient Greek, so this was right up his alley. "I'll try." Zeki stared at the letters for a moment impassively, then in horror. "What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"It says," he stuttered, "it says "ALEXANDER WILL ONLY SAVE THOSE WHO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE RULES THE WORLD. THOSE WHO DO NOT WILL FEEL HIS DIVINE WRATH." Do you know what this means? Somehow, this message was ingrained into his DNA. I don't know how this could be possible, but, we've just read a 2000-year-old prophecy!"

This is stupid. This can't be true. Tom was a skeptic to many, if not every, supernatural phenomena like this, but even he thought that this was worth investigating. "So," he asked Zeki, "will we unwrap Alexander now?"

"Yes, yes we will. I think the gods demand it."

4: The Return

The two men pushed the long table into the main examination laboratory. The rest of their colleagues, about ten others, stood with them. Tom and Zeki both held fine-bladed knives and a water gun that shot steam, in their hands. "This will be a historic day," Tom proclaimed. "Today, we will see the man who conquered the Persians with such brilliant tactics that only he could ever devise! We will go down in history, for now I know that my lineage of being related to Ptolemy has helped me make this discovery. Zeki, let's do this."

The pair slowly cut the bandages away one layer at a time. The embalmers had taken special care to ensure that the body was well protected. In the wrappings, Tom found a small circular amulet. It was gold and had a Greek Alpha carved into it. Tom held it in wonder, staring at the shining piece of metal.

As the amount of bandages diminished, Tom's mind was racing. I can't believe that we're actually doing this. All my life, I have waited for this moment. At last, it will be my chance to be immortalized in the passage of history, alongside the man that I have found. All that separates me and my ticket to fame and fortune is one more layer of this resin.

As the last of the resin was peeled away, Zeki gaped. "He looks," he whispered, "just like how those have described him. Golden hair, blue grey eyes, fine features. I can't believe I'm in the presence of Alexander the Great," he whispered in awe. He stopped himself as if he didn't want to wake Alexander from his sleep. He shook himself a little. "Sellis, what are you holding?" he asked.

"It's an amulet I found in the wrappings. I think it has the letter Alpha engraved into it. Why do you think that's here?"

"Maybe it's one of those protective charms, to keep away grave robbers." As Tom thought his friend's words over, he placed the amulet into Alexander's palm. "This is yours," he whispered. "It is an honor to have found you."

He stared into Alexander's lifeless eyes for a moment and was interrupted by Zeki. "I saw him blink!" he exclaimed. "I swear to God I saw him blink!"

"You're just seeing things. He's dead, he can't blink. You're probably just excited."

Zeki nodded and calmed down, composing himself. "You must be right. I mean, this is an amazing discovery. Think about it: they've been looking for Alexander since the last quarter of the 19th century, and after almost 130 years, we are the ones who have found him."

Tom nodded and kept staring at the Macedonian until he saw something change. Did he see Alexander blink too?

No, it can't be. I'm hallucinating like Zeki. If you remain calm, the illusion will go away.

He kept seeing Alexander blink an eye every few seconds or so. Wait. His eyes aren't even focused, so they can't blink.

As he thought this, Alexander's eyes came into focus until he was staring directly at him. Tom stared openmouthed back. "What is it?" Zeki was concerned, then he glanced at Tom. Alexander's gaze fell on them both.

At that moment, both saw a mental image so real that it was like reality before their inner eyes.

Zeki saw himself with a helmet under his arm and sword in hand, standing at Alexander's side. He was giving Zeki orders with a small smile. "You have done well. You shall, instead of leading my Royal Guardsman, be in my squadron."

However, Tom saw a completely opposite image. He saw himself lying on the ground, stab wounds in his arms, both shoulders, and legs, with a gash in his head. Alexander stood over him, blood up his arms and sword. His eyes were murderous, shining with an, angry, no, worse, light. Even though this was only an image, Tom felt the eyes on him. He tried to look away, but the harder he tried, the brighter Alexander's eyes shone. Then with a lurch, Tom realized that the blood wasn't Alexander's. It was his. "You should have followed your friend's advice. In doing so, he has been given a position in my army. You, on the other hand, are not so lucky. You will remember this day forever." Light surrounded Alexander as his sword came down towards him...

"What did you see?" Zeki asked Tom in a low whisper.

"I saw him. He was about to kill me. How about you?"

"I saw Alexander give me orders and promote me. It was so real. But, why would we see different images? And how were we able to see them?"

"Maybe it's our imaginations." Tom dismissed their visions as he would any other supernatural occurrence.

"I don't think we could have made up those things on our own," Zeki guessed. "Maybe, someone implanted these images into our minds. But who could it be?"

As Tom looked down at Alexander, he only saw an unoccupied table. He was gone. "What the hell?" he muttered. "Zeki, where did Alexander go?"

"I don't know. We were talking and," Zeki stopped. "No, he couldn't have."

"Couldn't have what?"

"He couldn't have stood and walked away. We have to look for him."

"There is no need to look."

Zeki and Tom spun around to face who had spoken.

What, who, am I seeing? Tom was confused.

"Thank you Zeki and Tom." The tall man who spoke to them had an accent that emphasized his consonants and lengthened his vowels: a Macedonian accent. "You have just fulfilled the most crucial step of my master plan."

5: Cut Our Beliefs

Tom and Zeki stared in wonder at Alexander. "You can't be him," Tom disclaimed. "How did you get here?"

"Shortly after I died, Roxane went to Ptolemy and gave him the amulet I now hold." He opened his hand and flashed it to them before placing it in a pocket. "This amulet was charmed by Aristander, and it was so designed that when a certain person, you Tom, found it and placed it in my hand, I would be resurrected. In fact, I was alive this whole time, but I would only be alive in a way that your instruments could detect after the amulet was given to me. Around the turn of the 21st century, Zeus alerted me to your studies. I decided that putting a message in the very DNA in my body would be the most permanent way to impart a message, so we did so. Zeus placed the message you read in a section of DNA that archaeologists often examined. You would only read the message correctly if you grouped the ninety characters in groups of ten. Luckily, you did so."

"That's good to know. But, the Greek gods co not exist."

"Where I come from, they do." He laughed as he watched the two friends' faces. "I do mot only come from a different part of history, but from a different history altogether. I am from a completely different universe, one with another Earth, another world population, and different beliefs. The Greek gods, along with manx other Greek or Roman mythological beings, are alive and well. To go farther, this world has other beings: Pokemon, and yes, I do mean the creatures thought up by the Japanese ten years ago. In our world history, Pokemon only existed in the Greek world: Africa, Europe, and Asia. When Christopher Columbus came so America, he brought Pokemon with him. Farther still, along with your towns and cities, there are Pokemon places as {el: Pallet Town is in Silicon Valley, Pewter City is in Navada, and the Orange Islands and Hawaii are one in the same."

Tom was tuning out his words. He only desired information that he could prove in both worlds. "You can't be the same man as the one we found. There are legends that he had fighting abilities beyond those of mortal men. And lately, there have been reports that airplanes in Iraq and Iran have been shot down by lightning bolts. Some prophesied that it was the precursor to an event like this. But if it was you, how were you able to do it?"

"I gained the abilities you speak of as time passed. As the technology changed, so did I. I learned to use magic and gained strength, speed, and agility far beyond that of a normal person, and even most superheroes. In the Pokemon world, the Laws of Physics are the same. The only difference is that they can be bent, if not broken, by almost anyone. But that is mot the point. From my upgrades, I also been given my blade. Ēlecktron!" A six-foot blade of bronze sprang from Alexander's arm, his wrist being where the hilt should have been. He gestured at it with his other hand. "This can cut through anything, even diamond. I suspect that if a hydrogen atom were placed at the center of the blade's edge, it would cut that too. Now, since fighter planes are being used to do aerial combat, I was given a weapon that no man has ever encountered before: the ability to use lightning like Zeus does. I gather energy from my surroundings, and I act like a human transformer. It is perfect for shooting planes out of the sky. Yes, these shootings were of my doing."

"Those things may be the case, but Alexander was only five-foot-eight. You're more than a foot taller than that. What the hell happened?" Tom contradicted the man yet again.

Alexander didn't appear irritated at being asked so many questions, questions that he obviously knew the answers to and questions, most likely, all of the people in his world knew the answers to. Actually, he seemed almost happy to be answering them. "Zeus informed me that appearances are just as important as military strategy. If your leader is short, you will not be afraid of him or his force, as proven by Nepoleon Boniparte, and look what happened. Plus, the Persians back 2300 years ago, here and in my world, admired tall rulers. We wanted to honor that. A general whose head is visible over a crowd of thousands and from afar makes the enemy think twice about second guessing him. Intimidation can be very affective before shedding blood." he mused, as if he were talking to himself. "It also allows for more surface area for gathering energy."

"Why have you come?" Zeki demanded boldly. He had watched the argument as it went back and forth silently. Now, Tom felt that Zeki now wanted to contribute something. He wanted information too. He thought that this was a lie too. He wanted answers too.

Alexander smiled in a not too friendly and creepy kind of way. "It is not _you that I am here for, it is Tom." He turned to him and began. "From Zeus, I know that you have been trying to find me for years and that many archaeologists have discredited you. I know that you work for the United States government by doing this project, but that your actual intention is to prove your critics wrong by finding me. You used your Macedonian lineage to your advantage. You said that this ancestry allowed you, _demanded you, to search for me. You said that when you found me, you would go down in history as one of the greatest archaeologists of all time, and you would be remembered forever.

This may be true, but you did all of this by feeding off my accomplishments. You always stated that because of your relationship to Ptolemy, this made you a ruler of Egypt. You speak lies!" Alexander's voice suddenly rose to a shout. "You have none of Ptolemy's blood in you, and you do not have his intelligence, his loyalty, and most of all, _his ability to accomplish _his _own _accomplishments!"

"You are the one who lies!" Tom screamed in response. "You grew tyrannical as you went on with your conquest. As you entered India, even your closest generals doubted you. You never listened to Kleitis', Perminion's, and many others suggestions of turning back! You only thought of yourself! You don't deserve your title, and if you were, you would be called Alexander the Unworthy! Ptolemy was more worthy of the title Great. At least he didn't kill an innocent soldier just because he disapproved of his opinions!"

Alexander went rigid with fury. "I killed Kleitis to get him out of the way. This made the campaigns easier. If he had stayed, I would not have met Roxane. You are the one telling me what not to do? And this is coming from the man who is using _my _military _strategy for his own benefit! What the hell do you think I did to win those battles: luck? I was lucky yes, but I did not win my battles through a line of flukes! Your whole career was a fluke: people actually believe that you are a descendant of Ptolemy! Oh, if only they could know of your lies, they would dismember you even more!"

"You know" Tom began, but Zeki stopped him. "Tom, why didn't you _tell me that you being of Ptolemaic descent was a lie?" He was mortified. "And to think," he said with relish, "I followed you because I thought I was being led by one of the sons of one of the best generals of one of the best conquerors in history! I guess I was wrong."

Zeki turned to Alexander. "You can do whatever you want with Tom, for I respect him no longer. I do not know why I did not leave him sooner."

"You!" Tom turned on his friend now. "You follow this megalomanic who thinks himself a god among men! He thinks we're slops in the bucket of life and that he's the one holding it! I am the one who found you, so I now have the right to send you back where you belong. You will never get past me! Or rather, them!" He gestured at his ten accomplices, who were guards that were assigned to protect Zeki and himself. They were, if you would like so call them this, low-level Sec Service men. "We'll blast your half-alive self right back to Greece and you'll stay there! Guards, fire!"

6: Breaking Weapons and Barriers

The ten fellow men in the room took their guns from their holsters and fired all at once. Bullets flew from ten separate points in the room towards Alexander. Right before their eyes, he disappeared. The bullets flew through empty space.

He reappeared next to one of the guards, close to the door. Darn, he was right about having super speed. Tom had to give a little bit of ground to his foe, and this was part of that. He slashed his sword downward, cutting the gun in two. The guard punched Alexander in the chest, but he didn't fall. In fact, he attacked in response, twisting the man's arms and dislocating his shoulders. He slammed an elbow into his opponent's ribs, and this was accompanied by the sound of shattering bone. The first guard fell in a matter of seconds.

As two more enemies came up behind Alexander, he parried a knife aimed at the back of his neck. The knife got sliced in half too. As the guards attempted to flip him over and subdue him, the two got their arms intertwined. They both got punched in the head, skulls cracking. "What the hell have you gotten us into Tom?" one man yelled. "You're going to make us get our Secret Service butts kicked by this-" He was cut off as a dagger appeared in his neck, and he fell dead.

Only six guards, Tom, and Zeki remained alive after less than a minute of fighting. "You may think I'm unarmed," Tom claimed, pulling an automatic machine gun from his holster, "but look at true firepower!" Who said archaeologists don't have the opportunity to do what the military does? he thought with satisfaction. A man with a Trojan-age blade can't stand a chance against this. He wouldn't have thought of this stuff in his wildest dreams.

Bullets came in a heavy stream like lead water in a river. The bullets were all aimed at the exact same target: Alexander's torso. Despite Tom's sniper-like accuracy, none hit their mark. Alexander was too fast and too evasive while fighting the remaining six guards. As he kicked one in the head, blood spilling to the floor, he jumped in the air and cut straight through a man's head down the middle before he touched the ground. He spun around, arms and legs and chiton in a blur. Men flew in all directions like debris at the mercy of helicopter blades. The four guards crashed into Tom and Zeki. "Damn the laws of physics," Tom cursed. "He wanted that to happen." i shouldn't sink so low as to fighting in anger. Alexander did that, and I am not worthy of him or anything he will do or could do.

He composed himself and reached for a pouch on his belt. "Here are some extra magazines. We have work to do. Who knew that I would actually use these?"

Five magazines were in his hands, one per person with a gun. I'll have to use every bullet I've got in order to defeat him. He's a pretty damn fast fighter. Not to mention that what he's done with just his bare hands excels all of us. We'll have to use our guns and try to stay away from him.

"I'll give you one last chance to submit," Tom raised his voice. "You can admit that our technology exceeds yours in every way, that Ptolemy is actually my predecessor, and that you'll never doubt my work again. Or, you can be shot through with more bullets than there were men in your army. And by a much smaller force too."

"I will-" Alexander stopped mid-shout. "You are right," his voice dropped to a whisper so soft that it was barely audible. "But you _are not a son of Ptolemy. Even though you are not an ancestor of a member of my army, you and your comrades shall be punished like them. You will be executed for treason and conspiracy by my own hand."

"That was not what I meant at all!" Tom was indignant. "And nowadays, we aren't punished for that kind of crap. The death penalty is allowed here in California, and even if we did commit a crime against you, treason is a Supreme Court thing! You're breaking a federal law!"

"I do not have to follow your laws," Alexander said matter-of-factly, "I break all of them with ease. I am not from your country, and though I do intend to stay here longer, I do not have to follow your laws. You inadvertently have followed mine. You found me like I planned, you gave me the amulet like I have planned. You used _my deeds to make yours sound heroic and honorable. You consider yourself an archaeological god among ordinary, mortal ones. Your actions have forced my hand."

Alexander's sword seemed to grow more lustrous, and Tom knew why. He was thinking of the many ways to kill him and his men. How many times has he done that? he asked himself. I am not the first one to have seen him like this; no, Darius was the first. He came very close to seeing it. I am the Darius who never escaped the battlefield. "You think what I have done _before was powerful? Now," he said, his voice growing louder with every word, "you shall feel the true wrath of a god!"

As he said wrath, a lightning bolt cleaved the ceiling in two. The bright sky showed through it. Bolts of energy began to arc from every point on his body, from his other hand to his blade. The group ran for cover, shooting as they went. Every bullet melted in the presence of the lightning. Flames filled the hole in the ceiling, as if it was blocking their last means of escape. Every piece of furniture so far in tact was turned to ashes. Lead rain burned the floor instead of cooling it. "Should we run now?" one man asked Tom. He had several burns on his arms and a cut across his forehead.

"I'm still not worried." Tom was calm, or at least he looked calm. "He can't focus his power. I mean, it's not like he'll concentrate all his power on us instead of spreading it around the room. I mean, why the Hades would he not focus it? And he says that he can throw a javelin."

As Tom finished, he felt energy blast him forward ten feet. He and his fellows ran straight into a wall face-first. "On second thought," he changed his mind and panicked, "run!"

The six of them sprinted for the door, which was only twenty feet away. Before anyone could arrive there, however, someone grabbed Tom from behind. He struggled and the grip got tighter, squeezing his arm so hard that he swore that it had already lost sensation. "Guards, fire!" Tom croaked again.

There was no gunfire. He heard a crack and saw a spray of molten metal. The guns had melted.

"Now I have you right where I want you." Alexander's voice drifted into Tom's ear: silky, quiet and loud, persuasive, terrifying. "You thought you could fight me with pure power? No, I know that you are going to say that that is what I am doing, but there is a method to all of this. I have knowledge of many weapons, most from after my time and from this one. I knew that you prefer automatic weapons, and I relied on your wasting of bullets. How I know this you may ask? You see, the more people I conquered during my campaign, the easier it was to control them. In some time, I had gained the capacity to read my generals' minds, my army's minds, my subject's minds. However, this could only go so far. Considering how my state worsened over the years, it got harder and harder to do. You see, as soon as I realized that I was in America, surrounded by millions and not just thousands of people, my powers' affects increased exponentially. It got easier and easier to use them. In particular, I was concentrating on you and Zeki. You are a skeptic to any phenomena so far unexplained by science, while Zeki all-out believes in them. Zeki was the one who suggested that you be the one to look at my DNA to begin with. You have done well," he praised Zeki and Zeki nodded curtly. "I am proud of you Zeki. Thanks to your persuasion, you have allowed me to return. Tom, you did the deed, but it was only after Zeki helped you. Zeki, as soon as I am done here, you can get straight to your duties as being one of my generals."

"Why would I need to become one?" Zeki asked. "You have no army."

"Well, I am going to do more than conquer the world. I am going to change the world I have conquered. I will make the government of all of the countries of the world that of the Greek ideal, or implant the parts that need to be added. Every man and woman, regardless of race, will be able to vote on every issue that affects not only themselves, but the government officials. This will be especially useful in the United States. Should there be higher or lower taxes? Should the state workers have pay cuts this month? Should all the states have the same sales tax? This will ensure that every person has a say in their lives and that there will be no problems involving inequality among voters. Government officials will be punished justly. Zeki, you will help me do all of that. Right now there are two of us, but before we can say "What the Hades have we taken upon ourselves to do," we shall have thousands, millions, dedicated to our cause. The revolution is coming. And it will begin as soon as I get rid of tom."

Zeki gazed at his commander. "But, I haven't proved myself in any way that I am worthy of serving you."

"You have remained mostly calm all throughout this whole mess, so if you can do that now, you will be fine in battle."

"As for you Tom," Alexander said, still holding him in the air, "you have disrespected me in every imaginable way. You used my achievements to help in the achievement of your own, you lied to the historical community and your friend about your Macedonian descent, and most of all, you have caused me dishonor by glossing over me and my hard work. You think being a conqueror of _my status is easy? It is not, since I had to keep track of thousands of people and had to march thousands of miles to do it. I had to reward, punish, feed, rest, transport, lead, and teach my soldiers for twelve years. You did not consider what your actions may have done to others, like what would happen if they found out about your secret or if they knew that you based your research off that of Zeki. You used us both. For that, you shall pay!"

7: A Liar's Scars

Alexander dropped Tom and spun more rapidly than ever, flinging the remaining guards high into the air. Everyone but Zeki touched the gap in the ceiling, and two of them tried to climb out in vain. Their hands were burned by the metal in the roof. As each man fell, Alexander sliced at their arms and legs, cutting them off at the knee with the two who had tried to escape. Blood poured from the stumps like a popped water balloon.

The remaining two, still able to stand, made one last attempt to run for the door. Turning and pivoting on one leg, Alexander slashed at the heads of them both, their necks skewered by the blade as it rotated around in an arc. It looked like a fan with only one blade, or more appropriately, one of those old butchers' meat slicing machines. The only difference was the fact that the blade and the meat moved.

It was grewsome work, the blood spraying everywhere. None of it seemed to get on him though. He's saving the true bloodshed for when he fights me. Tom was chilled down to the bone. I've watched ten men give their lives for Zeki and I in the past few minutes, and I admire that. I still think this is a waste of manpower, however. What Alexander is saying is not true and was never true.

His mind diverted away from the fight somewhat. Why does he like Zeki so much? He hasn't been hurt yet. He hasn't been touched. He made him turn against me. Now what will I do?

Then, Tom felt a stab of pain in his leg. He looked down to see a flow of blood running down it onto the floor and onto his shoe. He managed to spin around and felt the same pain in his other leg. Alexander had switched positions as he had turned around. He clenched his hands into fists and stood as straight as his wounded legs would allow. He stepped forward, making more blood gush to the floor. He had to make one last plea. "Zeki, I know that even though you don't think like how I do, you still support me, no matter what may happen. We've been through a great deal of crap throughout the years, and I know that you are against me, but you have to help me. I don't deserve my punishment. So please, please, by the gods of Greece and other lands, help me!"

"I can't do that." Zeki said bluntly. "You insulted my commander, and I can't let you get out of here alive. I'm sorry Tom, but I have to follow Alexander. You deserve your punishment after all."

Oh fantastic. Now my friend is completely paying no attention to crap! His thoughts were broken in on by more pain, this time in his arms. Cuts extended from his hands to his shoulders. How they had appeared there so quickly, he didn't know. In his defense, he struck at Alexander's breast.

He didn't even flinch when the blow landed. He lunged for Tom's arms and twisted them together behind his back. At the same time, he felt white-hot pain in his head. It had been cut from the left side of his scalp to that same corner of his jaw. More blood gushed down his face and some trickled into his mouth. He tasted iron and other earthy minerals, and this made his stomach turn. He had never tasted his own blood before, and this made him dizzy and unfocused on what was happening. Alexander's men had, no, have, tasted their own blood from wounds. Some have nearly drowned in it.

He was pushed to the ground, and he saw stars before his eyes.

He glanced up as he fell. A spurt of blood had landed on his opponent's blade. Alexander's lips were bloody from him cleaning it with his tongue. He ran the tip of his tongue across them, as if he were trying to figure out what he tasted there, and Tom felt more nauseous than before. He was tasting his blood! It looked like he was enjoying it too. When they say that some warriors were bloodthirsty, they meant it literally as well as figuratively. How could this bring him so much pleasure?

Then, he realized what he had done to make his empire. Oh. It's because the blood of his enemy is so easy for him to dispose of. He enjoys seeing my comrades bleed.

"_Now do you see? Fighting against me is futile. You are no match for me." Alexander glanced at Zeki, who watched the proceedings with a mixture of sadness and apathy. "You should have taken your friend's advice. Because he believed in me and did not use me, he has received a position in my army. As for you, you are not so lucky."

Why was this so familiar? This was what Alexander had said in Tom's vision! It was coming true! The message that Zeki and him had read was true. Zeki acknowledged that Alexander ruled the world, and he was rewarded. Now, since he doubted this, Tom would feel Alexander's divine wrath. Nothing would save him, not even the believer. "You shall remember this day forever. You will be scarred for life. My name shall be written on your arm for as long as you walk Gaea's domain, and every time you say my name, you shall feel the same pain you are about to feel. Everyone will know why you feel it, I will assure that happens. Any last words?"

When he was done, he did not wipe his hand on his chiton. Instead, he began licking the hand that wasn't a blade. If Tom could vomit now, he would do so. He was relishing the taste of his blood, like how he did with Darius, his Persian enemy's ignorance. He saw Alexander swallow and place his hand at his side.

Tom didn't change his mind. He said what he had said earlier with great conviction and finality. "You deserve your title of Alexander the Unworthy after all."

"As you say." Light surrounded Alexander and his blade as it came down towards Tom's arm...

He felt like his whole body was being plunged into and seared by hot oil. The sword was like a weapon made of pure pain, one worthy of any warrior. No, a conqueror. No. Any warrior, like Caesar or Hannibal, could have wielded it well, but this sword only suited Alexander. He alone could hold a weapon of such destructive power with such ease. If he had had it during his campaign, he would have been an army of one. He would have no need for infantry or cavalry. He would only need a way to travel from town to town. People who submitted peacefully would stay alive, and those who fought, would end up like him. No one in those towns would have survived.

His name would have spread like wildfire, if anyone lived to hear of it. He was the Macedonian warrior who could kill with hands and blade, who knew your battle plan even before you thought of it, who could, with the mere mentioning of his name, cause pain. If you actually saw him? You would be dead before you could react or even process everything you saw. You would be dead while your brain was still functioning, working at its hardest to interpret what it saw. The only thing you would see was the blood on his lips, his drink of your life, being his water, and the blade coming towards your neck. You would go to Hades with Alexander's terrifying, submitting, seductive voice in your ears. You would scream in agony as you were carried to Charon's ferry to the underworld. You would have plenty of company there, for thousands of men would have had the same fate as yourself.

Tom heard his own coarse scream of pain and felt his body thrashing. He felt the blood pool around his body, and he got weaker every time he moved. His head burned with his gash.

Along with his own screams, he heard Alexander laughing. Laughing? He heard this for sure. It was a quiet and soft kind of laugh, but one that still resonated with power. It was a laugh of satisfaction, one of his master plan being fulfilled just as he desired. It was a laugh of wielding unopposed, absolute power, that even with time, never died or lost its influence. It was a laugh of a man who was driven by the pain of others, one who actually got stronger with every kill.

I was part of this plan the whole time. It took ten years and much more to be completed, but it had been completed in the end. By choosing to study him, I had become a part of it. Zeki was a part of it, and Aristander, the one who charmed the amulet, was a part of it too. It was also planned that I would have to suffer like this. Now I accept my punishment, but I do so with dread.

His thoughts became less lucid. At last, his thoughts only filled with that of the pain he felt and his sight went black. The last things he saw were Alexander's expression of rage, his bloody mouth, and his beckoning hand, as if he were letting Charon know that he would have a new passenger and that Hades would have a new subject.

Zeki looked impassively on at his friend.

Alexander had not said what he had about the revolution to scare Tom. He was going to change the world, not only in that way, but in many other ways. He would tell the rest of the world of his deed after cleaning this mess up. It didn't bother him. He had killed people this quickly before without a second thought.

He had made Tom think that he would live after the scarring, but he had intended to kill him from the start. He had insulted him, and he would feel his wrath forever for doing that. Hades would make sure that happened when Tom arrived in the Fields of Punishment. He would relive this day forever. The sole nonbeliever, the benefactor, and the prime part of Alexander's plan, was no more.

8: Unchanged but Changed

UC Berkley, California

Zeki Mysterio, Report 1A

"I can finally talk about what's happened freely. I, Zeki Mysterio, will tell you all you need to know about well, everything that's happened since Tom's death.

I'm still surprised, no, shocked, no, scared out of my mind, that Alexander the Great, out of all people, has returned! He told me everything I needed to know, like when he set out for Asia, where he encamped during all these battles, what he thought should happen after he died. Apparently, none of his after-he-died protocol was followed. He wasn't surprised. He knew that though his generals would try to do what he wanted, they wanted to pay homage in their own ways after he died.

He also told me that after meeting Roxane, she told him of an amulet that Darius gave to her when they met as a gift. He had said this: "If you should need to save a dying man or help one who was dead, give this to a practiced seer, and from there, you will know what to do."

After he died, Roxane had met Aristander and gave him the amulet. In front of all the men, Aristander had put Alexander's memories in it and placed it along with his body. Tom had been chosen and nothing would interfere with that.

Along with the amulet, his body had been hidden somewhere that no archaeologists could anticipate: a tomb beside that of his father in Macedon. They hadn't adorned the site with any ornaments, no matter how much they desired it. They simply placed Alexander in a golden sarcophagus and buried it deep underground, about twice the depth of Philip's burial mound. It had remained there, archaeologists searching in Alexandria and Greece many times with no success. They could never have guessed that it was there.

Many discredited the idea that the body alone could be hidden in Greece in plain sight. They said that someone like Alexander would want a grand tomb that would weather the centuries and would still be recognizable even after 2300 years or more.

Many also discredited the idea that Alexander could have suggested this placement himself. He had come to Ptolemy in a dream, telling him to not make him a tomb in Egypt, but to bring him back to his home country. Of course, Ptolemy agreed.

He had journeyed back to Macedon and buried it as deeply as he could, right beside Philip's tomb and burial mound. There was a counterfeit body in the Soma Alexandre. That was the tomb that Julius Caesar had visited. After 2300 years, the coffin had remained undiscovered. Tom and I had the sense to look there, and with luck, oh, perhaps Alexander's will, we had located him.

It was a surprise at first, but then we figured it out. Alexander would only be placed there if it was important. It was. Not only that, but the finding wasn't done by Tom's lineage, but mine, for _I am a son of Ptolemy, not Tom.

Alexander had told me that I was Ptolemy's son just two days ago. I was so astonished that I fell to my knees and stared open-mouthed. He had calmed me and said that he had waited a little bit to tell me. He wasn't particularly surprised at my feelings. In fact, it was like he expected them. "Zeki, I was just as shocked, if not more so, when I discovered my relation to Zeus before my first campaign. My mother was in my position now, and I was you."

He has also told me about this alternate world. Pokemon rome free, in pokeballs, and even standing alongside human trainers with pokeballs of their own. His closest friend is a Pikachu named Minondass, named after Epeminondass the Theban. Alexander has had a nonstop winning streak ever since March 2009 in that world, and he has even more famous than he is here. He has fought in two more wars, each one against Minondass and the army that he had raised. He is the head of an organization called the Hellenic League, an army, scholar group, Greek author haven, and many more things. He has made me a spy.

On a lighter note, Alexander has given me my sword and helmet. He taught me swordplay, with many bumps and bruises to go along with it. However, it's paid off greatly. He's told me that he will tell me any information I desire and that I can use it in any way I please, as long as I say where the information came from and that I keep it as close to how he had said it as possible. I love this license, for there is no corruption by bias, only cold, hard fact that no archaeologist, no matter how experienced, knowledgable, or schooled they may be, could doubt. How could they? They're getting the information straight from the one who did everything they studied. How can you have information so fresh from any other source?

One more word to the reader. If they are like me: that they believe that everything I have said is true, that they believe that Alexander is the rightful ruler of the world, and that he has authority that is not limited by the passing of time, then they'll be rewarded with fame, fortune, and a place among his circle of supporters. Many people have received this post, and I am one of the first of the modern to be given this right.

However, if you don't believe in anything I have said: that you think Alexander doesn't rule the world, that his authority was concrete when he lived the first time and during that time only, and that I lie about what I say? Well, you'll be like Tom. Alexander will find you, and I'll ensure that he does find you. He knows the thoughts of every man, woman, and child in the United States all at one time. Even I can not hide my thoughts from him. His mind is impenetrable by my own, for his mental capacity is so vast that no mortal can comprehend what he thinks directly. Only if he gives you entry can you figure out his thoughts, and even then, they are quite unintelligible.

I will make sure he finds you. I'll make sure that he gets what he wants, whether it be submission, money, or, in extreme cases, the death of you. He can never be beaten in a fight, no doubt about that. His sword moves quicker than any other in history, his agility unmatched by any athlete, his lightning ability of divine origin. He can not be tied down by ropes, his sword will just cut them with ease. If you try to handcuff him? He can also cut those and he can even break them with his bare hands. He is a fighter with abilities any conqueror would want: speed, intelligence beyond belief, gifts from God.

One last thing-

"Zeki, are you writing of my powers again in your novel? You're not Arrian. You're not Roman. In fact, you're not even, well, Roman-ish." Alexander interrupted Zeki's typing.

He started. "No. Why do you ask? Sire, this isn't a novel. I'm writing a report to Robert Gates. He is the Secretary of Defense."

"I am not disapproving," Alexander was thankful. "In fact, I want you to do this. Thank you for doing so, for I think the reader of this dispatch gets your point. Do you think so?"

"Yes, I guess they would."

"But there is one more thing we need to do, and it is I who will carry it out. Tom is unworthy of mention in writing. Only by mouth will we spread his demise. So," Alexander's voice shook the room. "Ēlectron!"

... ... ...

The End

OPERATION RESURRECT: THE AUTHOR BRIDGE THEORY

(Amonniad Series 7)

by Aristander Telmizzen Esteron

Pauline Ugalde

and Alexander Alae Amon

Published by Athenian Academy Books Inc.

1023 Rictron St.,

Pallet Town CA, 12345

Copyright © 2011 Aristander Telmizzen Esteron, Pauline Ugalde, and Alexander Alae Amon. Maps copyright © 2010-2011 Leonardo da Vinci and the U.S Geological Survey.

You may do whatever you wish with this book and its prequels, for they are all in the public domain.

To Pauline,

For making this, all of us, possible.

To Aristander and Alexander,

For their support and their dedication to finding their roots.

To my men, dead, alive, or missing in action,

Who are all main characters in my saga.

"Toil and risk are the price of glory, but it is a lovely thing to live with courage and die leaving an everlasting fame."

-Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander Alae Amon

IMPORTANT PERSONS

The most important or most mentioned persons within this book are listed in order of rank, from lowest to highest for the Hellenic League officers, and from highest to lowest for the members of the United States government.

Pauline Ugalde: Royal Historian's Third-In-Command

Aristander Telmizzen Esteron: Royal Seer, Army Literary Historian, Royal Literary Historian, 2nd Hoplite Battalion Commander

Minondass Electris Ketchum: Army Second-in-Command, Greek Contact, Secondary Macedon Contact, Deputy

Alexander Alae Amon: Hellenic League Commander, world's best pokemon trainer and coordinator, world's most successful military tactician, Greek god of brilliance and pokemon coordination, world conqueror Alexander the Great

Executive Cabinet of the United States

President: Barock Obama

Vice President: Joe Biden

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton

Secretary of Defense: Bob Gates

1

2 Weeks Before Day 1: Operation Resurrect

Pentagon, Washington D.C

1:00 p.m Eastern Time

Secretary of Defense Bob Gates stared around the room at his associates. They had locked themselves in this room last week, and they had all sworn then that they would only let themselves out if and when Congress gave their bill to the president to be signed.

Why were these men in this room, you may ask. Well, they were attempting to change the way the United States was being governed. Obama and Clinton had both agreed that the country was in dire straights, even if the worst of the recession was over. Now, everyone who tried to lead them was inept, unintelligent, and corrupt.

They were about to change that. They were going to find someone who could lead them. Very well.

"So we all agree that we must ask NASA to help us and that us and them alone should develop this technology?" he asked.

A thin, dark-haired man at his side nodded. "Mr. Gates, we all know that if any of this leaked out, the Iranians would think it a sign of war. We must let Nasa and us and NASA and us alone take care of this." The man's clear hazel eyes reflected his question into the secretary's with a mirror's acuteness. His eyes were bright and curious and not always willing to be careful. They were not naturally reckless eyes, only enough to be the sign of a careful person who could cause trouble when no one was looking.

"Precisely, Tenner," Mr. Gates replied. He exchanged a satisfied glance with his friend. Vade Tenner, his closest friend and advisor, had fought in the Iraq war not five years earlier. He knew what had actually happened there. He knew what weapons both sides used and what their enemies were willing to do in order to make peace. He was an indispensable member of his team. Without him, nothing would be done.

"Will we give our bill to Congress today then?" another man asked with a Greek accent. "I can not stand around waiting for these quarrelsome politicians to finish the rest of the country's business."

This man, though born and raised on the backstreets of Thebes, was very astute and insightful, and he was able to access places and documents that not even the president could view by himself without suspicion. Antipater Amaplates was his name, and like his namesake from Macedon, he always wanted action. No time to think, improvise as you went along, never take no for an answer. Mr. Gates loved his quick wit, the aggressive way he carried himself, and most of all, his directness and stubborn, almost one-track loyalty, to a plan. That was how he was so reliable. That was how he would keep their secrets.

"Yes," Mr. Gates replied. "Go to the Senate first. We have many supporters there. Once they approve, the House of Representatives will follow soon afterward."

3 Days Before Day 1: Operation Resurrect

Capitol Building, Washington D.C

10:00 a.m Eastern Time

"Aye," the last man said. The votes were tallied. There was much more than a majority in both parts of the legislative branch. In fact, all but twenty-five men and women in the Senate and fifty in the House of Representatives did not approve of the bill. These politicians were conservatives who did not want change, who thought that any information that the government kept away from the people was not worth hiding. They did that themselves though, so the cause for them to support this was so far undiscovered. They thought that this bill was a waste of time, money, men, property, and negotiations. That may have been true, but what the bill would reap would by far outweigh its cons. The only person standing in their way was the president and his signature.

Day 1: Operation Resurrect

Capitol Building, 6:00 p.m Eastern Time

"We shall dedicate NASA's former space program staff and buildings to these developments," president Obama read aloud. "The buildings shall be used for the study of scientific concepts that NASA has had no time to work on in the past. Some of these include time travel, the existence of parallel universes, and studying things like atoms more closely to learn about their composition. If these projects are beneficial enough, their success may spark new industries and they may help existing ones. This will begin a new age of American exploration, not onto the seas or into deep space, but into the annals of history." Congress members clapped loudly. Mr. Gates, Mr. Tenner, and Mr. Amaplates clapped the loudest. They beamed at the president, who motioned cheerfully with one finger. He left the room with many requesting his autograph along the way.

Enjoy this while it lasts, Mr. Gates thought as he watched the country's leader leave. You may be a brilliant leader, but Antipater, Vade, and I will soon know how to find someone who renders all other leaders foolish. We will not carry out the deed, but he will.

2

2

4 Months into Operation Resurrect

Time Bender Building, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Florida

2:00 p.m

Gates looked pleased. "What do you think of these readings, Ema?" he asked the redhead at his side.

"They look normal. The energy measuring systems seem to be in order." she answered shyly. She had a nervous look in her eyes, as if any moment someone was going to scold her for doing something wrong. Ema Kelly was not exactly who you would think an expert in time travel or any of the things Obama had talked about, or at least her past did not suggest that. She had often been punished for breaking rules at school, mostly due to her schoolwork. She had thought herself too smart for her teachers, and no one could convince her that she was the student and that her teachers were supposed to teach her things, not the other way around. That never stuck though, so by the time she had graduated high school, by reading on her own, she had already knew enough to have the equivalent of a four-year college education in physics.

Ema was standing before a long row of screens, each one showing different graphs and pictures. Some graphs showed the composition of the objects in the room by element, others tracked the use, transfer, and behavior of any energy in the room, including in the electronics they were using. Still others tried to detect the presence of any energy, electrical or otherwise, that wasn't coming from any of their electronics and that appeared to have no detectable source. This, Ema and Gates theorized, would be how they could find something. "There is an irregular reading here," Ema said, pointing to one graph. The x-axis showed the time and the y-axis showed the energy levels when compared to those of the computer. The higher up the line was, the stronger the signal was in comparison. "It was here when I came in this morning, but it disappeared while I was at lunch. It came back when I came back. As you know, we have monitors like this stationed in every room. In the lunch room, in fact, I saw this same spike in energy levels when I was in there."

"Could it be a glitch?" Mr. Gates asked. "I told NASA that these monitors had to be perfect. How could they not have accounted for this?" He stopped. "Ema, did any other monitors besides this one and the one in the lunch room detect this?"

She shook her head. "No. But my associates have detected similar irregular rises in energy, but not one as high as this. They are not nearly as frequent too. They appear, stay for a couple minutes, and disappear without returning. This reading, though, always returns."

"Are any of our other sensors overactive, because if one is, then that may be causing the spike in readings."

"I don't think so. All of the monitors are accounted for when determining the baseline level. All of the monitors working normally with no problems for one minute is the benchmark amount. This spike is over 200 times that, and it's been here for hours on end. It can't be mere coincidence that this is happening. I can't find any electronic that is emitting this much power; the average per-minute level for all of the monitors in this building added together is barely detectable, so they can't be the cause."

"Do you think, then, that this was worth it?" Gates asked.

Ema shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe, just maybe, we may have found our proof."

Gates's heart raced. Proof already? How could proof of the existence of parallel universes or some other people come so soon? He did not care about why it was short, but that it had happened. This equipment had been lying in wait at NASA for years, ever since the launch of the Spaceshuttle Challenger, to be exact. NASA had wanted to send these monitors into space along with their James Web telescope, but when Gates and the president had requested them to be used for their project, they had done so without regret. The monitors did not take many materials to make, only much money and time. Now, their lack of time did not matter. He had to tell the others. He had to tell the president. This was what he and his colleagues had been wanting for months, and mow they had that proof.

"This is incredible," Vade Tenner said. "Who knew that such a short time could reap such benefits?"

"I am pleased as well," Mr. Obama said. "You have a very brilliant team then if you were able to get proof of this so soon."

"Our next step is to find the source of this electromagnetic signal. If it is coming from a computer or set of computers, we can try to communicate. Gates, Tenner, yourself, and I will initiate it," Antipater said. "If we have actually found the existence of another universe where we stand, we can ask to see the person in authority. Only after we establish a first alliance can we tell the public of this."

"But won't the public be very alarmed at hearing that we have contacted aliens who live not on another planet, but on _our very planet? Remember what happened when that Mars landing program was said on the radio?" the president questioned. "That state of mass hysteria may happen again. People have suspected that we were hiding something like this for a long time. This will confirm all of their theories. It will be like when the Soviet Union's ideas were spreading throughout the world. Everyone turned on everyone. Everyone may think that their neighbor works for us."

"We will provide proof that these beings are not aliens. On the contrary, if they are on this planet and assuming that they are fully evolved, these beings will be people," Antipater replied. "Once they find this out, people should not be very surprised."

"It is settled then. Contact will be initiated once all who work within Operation Resurrect know of this," Mr. Tenner said.

3

4 Months into Operation Resurrect

Lawson Middle School, Cupertino, California, Friday

9:00 a.m

Pauline, Nellie, Nakita, and Janis finished running their daily lap. The air was neither warm nor cold, but still pleasant while they wore their shorts and T-shirts, their uniforms for PE. "If we just ran the mile today," Nellie Neu complained, "then why is Mr. Gibbons making us do this afterwards?"

"It's only a cool-down," Nakita Vee said, sighing. "This is something that will help our bodies recover from the effort of running."

"You didn't run the warm-up lap every day this week," Janis Hwong said. "While you were running the mile, you were walking a lot, while Nakita jogged past rubbing it in your face."

"Fine," Nellie grumbled. Ah, typical day. Well, nothing is never truly typical when I'm hanging out with Nellie, Pauline thought. My life isn't very typical in itself.

She was the only blind person at her school, and everybody at Lawson acknowledged it very often. Her vision teacher was impressed with everything she could do, while Pauline thought nothing of it. Their PE teacher Mr. Gibbons boasted that she was the best dribbler in their class.

The bell for going back into the locker rooms sounded. They changed, all four of them very relieved. It was almost the weekend, almost the time to kick back and relax. It wasn't time to kick back and relax just yet.

Pauline went to social studies next. She sat with a sigh. Her social studies class was interesting, but annoying. She felt that her enjoyment of it had been diminished thanks to how it was being taught. That didn't matter right now, though.

The announcements flickered onto the TV. Every day, everybody watched the announcements, which were read aloud by two eighth-graders. "There will be an E-Club meeting-"

The girl speaking was interrupted as the screen flashed with white and black lines. A harsh sound like the sound of rushing water filled the room. This is the worst of the technical difficulties that's happened yet. Did the electricity go down?

It turned out that the electricity had not been cut off. A new voice came from the TV's speakers. "This is a breaking news story here at Kron 4 News! It has just been released that the government has been hiding something from everybody in America, something that could change the way we live, think, and practice religion," Pam the anchorwoman announced. "A statement has been released by the president only seconds earlier. He has filmed his statement and it has been sent to every governor and to every news station in the United States. It has also been posted on YouTube. Now, we bring it to you, straight from our video archives."

The news anchor stopped speaking. An image of the president standing before a desk filled the screen. The room looked like any that could be in the White House: bright windows, some computers on the desk, and a small video camera sitting beside him, pointed at him. It appeared that President Obama had filmed this tape himself. He began. "I have supporters of my presidency, and those who reject it. There is information that people think should be available to the public and those who think that this should be classified. I have information that everybody in the United States should know. Four months ago, the Secretary of Defense Bob Gates proposed a bill to Congress that would allow the facilities used by NASA to be used for other scientific project other than space exploration, especially what Mr. Gates called "the investigation of the very threads that form the tapestry that we live on, in, and around that is the fabric of space-time." It has come to my attention that Mr. Bob Gates actual intention was to try to contact anybody who may be in a parallel universe. These parallel universes are not on far-off planets, but on our very own, unseen by humans and instruments.

Very shortly, Mr. Gates and I shall establish contact with whoever may be living in this parallel universe. They are not aliens: they live on Earth, and are advanced enough to be making computers. They can not be very different from us. There is no reason to fear. We shall all be part of a new age, the Crossing Age, the time that we could say that we discovered something very new about ourselves, that even if we do not find alien beings on other planets, we will never be alone where we call home."

The president's image disappeared. The news reporter came back on the screen. "This is astonishing news! After this break, the president's contact shall be broadcasted live. We will keep you posted as this shocking news story unfolds, right here, on Kron 4."

The room was silent. No one dared move or breathe, let alone speak. Pauline's heart was racing with excitement and fear. What could this mean? Were aliens real after all, or rather, was the theory of parallel universes real?

Something that could change the way we live? Change the way we live so much that the president would go through the pains, or do something so normal as, posting his statement on the Internet? Was it so important that it did not matter if it was confidential or not? That would only happen if the discovery was so momentous that it did not matter if anybody and everybody knew of it.

"Well," Ms. Corcoran said, trying to fill the long silence, "this has never happened before. No president has never been so open about disclosing information. If his news was so urgent and important to the country that he would film it himself, well, then we have to see what he will say next."

At that moment, the school-wide system of speakers turned on. "Attention all students and teachers," the announcer said, "all sixth grade advisory classes, report first to your advisory classes, and then to the quad immediately. Team G seventh grade advisory classes, please report first to your advisory classes, and then to the library and the community room, and all team H advisory classes, please meet on the bleachers on the upper blacktop immediately. All eighth grade advisory classes, please go to your advisory classes, and then to the gym immediately."

Pauline stood up and walked to Mr. Oncay's advisory class. She could barely contain her emotions. Maybe her advisory teacher had something to say about all of this that would shed some light on this astonishing discovery. She sat down as Mr. Oncay began to speak. "Did you guys hear the president's address?"

"Yes!" everybody shouted.

"I have no idea what this is about," the language arts teacher said, "but all I know is, this isn't a hoax. The president wouldn't do this unless he was talking about something so important that it should not be concealed from anyone. Let's go to the gym. We may watch Mr. Obama talk to aliens!"

With this somewhat optimistic comment, Mr. Oncay and his advisory class went to the gym.

4

Time Bender Building, NASA, Florida

The president set down his video camera. "You can come in," he called. Bob, Vade, Antipater, and ema walked in. "How did it go?" Ema wondered. "Did you kick the hornet's nest?"

"The comments on the Internet are shocked, but not as bad as I thought," the president said. "I was surprised that no one was thinking of driving into the mountains and stockpiling food."

"We are all glad that that didn't happen," Bob Gates said. "That computer is the one that detected the signal. All we have to do is tap into the signal and see where it's coming from. It won't be hard. It may take time though."

He strode up to the computer and began looking for the graph that had detected the spike in power. He stared at it. "It's still here," he said. "Even _now, it's still here. Soon, we won't be the only ones who know you're here." He talked to the graph like it was one of their conspirators, like it could hear him or _ever would hear him. He knew his colleagues would excuse it, for he _was talking to one of their conspirators, even if it was inanimate.

"Oh by the gods!" Antipater pushed past Bob and clicked a button at the bottom of the graph. "Tracing source, please wait." the computer said. "Estimated time left: two hours."

"We can wait two hours," Antipater said sarcastically. "We've already waited four months, no, almost ten years. Why _not two more hours?"

_Beep. The computer suddenly stopped its searching. "Source location," the computer said, "100 meters east of Tracking Room."

Vade frowned. Now, the computer's screen showed a picture of the interior of the building, a grid marking out every room. The place where the computer first lay, the Tracking Room, was the origin, and they were on the x-axis at its farthest eastern point. "How can that be?" he asked. "_We are 100 meters away from the Tracking Room."

"Look where we are, it's that red dot. The source is the blue dot. The blue dot is right on top of us," Ema said. "None of our equipment is causing the energy spike."

"Mr. President," Bob asked, "do you think your video camera is causing this?"

The chief executive shook his head. "I put it away in a vault where its electric signal couldn't be detected, or at least if it was detected, it would look like a tiny rise on that graph."

"Then," Ema said the question that everybody wanted to ask and yet nobody wanted to ask, "whose is it?"

"Mine, of course."

Bob gates spun around the room. Where did that come from? No one had spoken, unless... "Yes. Shocking isn't it? You did not think that someone was listening to you this whole time?" the unseen speaker questioned.

was someone spying on them? Was someone from the Secret Service spying on them? Gates saw that there were no video cameras anywhere, and there was no one standing outside underneath the window. The surrounding land was deserted. Could it be coming from the computer?

Everyone stared. There was a new image on the screen. A man was standing before a laptop, just like them. His, however, was much smaller and thinner, and from what their video chat camera could see, its screen was brighter. The man standing before them was tall, much taller than anyone they had ever seen before. He looked more than a half foot taller than most basketball players. He was not powerfully built, but he had delicate, taut muscles, like those of a runner. He was wearing black jeans and a long, black cloak that went down to his ankles. There was a black belt clasped about his waist that looked like it was gilded in places. Like the rest of his body, his face was fine, the only thick-set part being the shelf of bone that was the bottom of his forehead above his eyes.

His eyes. What the hell am I looking at? Gates thought. He was staring into intense, burning, bright, fiery, blue-black eyes. He felt a hot, painful tingling crawl down his neck and his spine, as if he were looking at fire too closely. If I feel like this through a video chat link, then if I was there in person, I would be burning all over. _This is who we have found?

"Mr. President, you may want to take care of this," Gates whispered. The man tilted his head a little to the left, listening with his ears and his eyes. He stepped forward. "Who are you?" he asked him. He was neither benevolent or hostile, only seeking. His accent was like Antipater's except stronger. When he asked this simple question, it was like he was cutting a channel into their minds with the sound of his voice.

Barock Obama met the man's piercing gaze. "I am Barock Obama, the President of the United States of America. They," he pointed at Bob, Vade, Antipater, and Ema, "are my Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and Vade Tenner, Antipater Amaplates, and Ema Kelly are his advisors. We have initiated contact as part of a project called the Space Time Investigation Bureau. We, the people of the United States, wish to make an alliance with your people. Please, introduce yourself."

The man's face lightened quickly. "Well," he began, "I'm the leader of an organization called the Hellenic League, an organization that wishes to preserve ancient Greek culture. Our members are scholars, historians, and soldiers. Everybody gets professional military training in Macedonian arms as well as modern weapons."

"Macedonian weapons?" Bob repeated. "Aren't those very archaic compared to what we have today?"

"Yes, yes they are. However, there are ways to make them effective in today's world. Plus, everybody is trained to use their own kind of arms as well as everybody else's, in case we need more troops of one kind than already exist."

"So your society is heavily reliant on military prowess, like Sparta?" Antipater asked.

"You could say so, except our way of life isn't nearly as strict. Our members live all around the world, and we have a lot of locals giving us information about where they live in case we have to go there."

"Your world is like ours then," Ema said, "except for the Hellenic League."

"Yeah. But-" "Sire!" a voice called. "The squires are..." the voice stopped. "What are you doing?"

"Minondass," the man said, "I'm talking to someone. Someone very important."

A small figure appeared on the man's lap. Bob Gates recognized it: yellow fur, brown stripes on its back, a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. Was it? "Oh," the tall man said, "there are pokemon here. Like him," he pointed at the Pikachu, who cleared his throat. "Pikachu Ketchum," it said, bowing slightly, "Minondass Ketchum to be exact. Second-in-command for the Hellenic League. I heard your conversation, so I know who you all are." Pokemon could talk? Well, it looked and heard like they could talk in this universe. His voice was high, almost shrill, but human.

"I haven't gotten through introductions," the man said a little sharply.

"Fine," Minondass said, sighing. "Do your thing." He jumped onto the desk and sat beside the laptop.

The man cleared his throat. "One thing I haven't told you is my lineage. I am Macedonian, descended from Heracles and Achilles and Zeus."

"Aren't those people mythological?" Antipater wondered.

"They may be mythological to you, but to me and my kin, they are very much alive. Our religion is that of the Greek gods, like Zeus, Apollo, and Athena, called Dionism. We worship them much the same way that Catholics do with their god: in churches using hymns, sacraments like baptism, and sacrifices at every meal."

"Seems a lot easier to follow than most other modern religions," Obama remarked.

"It is actually. People can worship in virtually any way they want as long as they sacrifice at every meal, go to worship every two weeks, and worship all the gods. Oh, and they can worship in any way they want as long as they don't break any laws."

"Sir," Ema said cautiously, "you are getting off topic. You were introducing yourself."

"As Minondass has said," he continued, "I haven't said my name. I am Alexander Alae Amon, commander of the Hellenic League. I am much more commonly known as Alexander the Great."

5

Lawson Middle School, Cupertino, CA

Pauline sat in stunned silence. What was she hearing? Could the man President Obama was talking to actually be, him? Alexander?

Ever since the beginning of 2010, Pauline had been writing stories that took place in the pokemon world. The date and time there was exactly the same as the actual time and date, and it had the same political, economical, and social problems. The only differences, besides the fact that pokemon were there, was that there was magic, the Greek gods, and technology advanced enough to resurrect the dead, with Hades's consent, of course.

The TV on the gym wall was silent. "How," Antipater broke the silence. "How can _you be Alexander? First of all, he was never in America. Second, even if he did come to America, how could you be here if your tomb hasn't been found? Lastly, if you _are _actually Alexander, then how did you get so tall and learn English so quickly? It usually takes someone five to ten years to do so without taking classes."

"Don't question me like your police do to the arrested, please, but I will answer them. How I got here: after I died, I was sent to Hades to be in Elysium, where the judges of the dead proclaimed that I should be there. I stayed there for 2000 years, until when in late 2008, a group of archaeologists by the names Tom Sellis and Zeki Mysterio found me. In February of 2009, Hades thought that it was time that I came back. So I did.

As for how I learn English, that is still in the process. I learned by buying an English to Greek dictionary, and from experience. Most of the time, though, I forget that I'm talking to people who don't know Greek-" "And I slip back into it," Minondass translated.

"See? I'll probably never stop talking Greek completely. Hades made it so that when I came back, I could read and write English, it {as just that I couldn't speak it. How I got so tall? Magic. The laws of physics are the same here, it's just that we have many ways of bending, if not breaking them."

"If your world is like ours, then all of our country's officials are there too? I exist there?" The president seemed not to be as shocked as Pauline thought.

"You do exist here. All of the bills you've already passed are passed here, except for the fact that you approved an amendment to the Constitution that said that pokemon, like Minondass, have the same rights as trainers." Obama nodded.

"Where are you right now?" Ema asked. "If your world is like ours, your geography should be the same except for the pokemon places."

"Oh, I'm in Florida, not far from Orlando. I'm in one of NASA's buildings. They're going to stop being funded soon, but they're still working on the James Web telescope. We're in different universes, but it looks like I'm in the exact same room as you."

Bob Gates frowned. "How is that possible? Your location could be the same, but the two building's layout can't be exactly the same. Different builders probably made them, and if they were built by the same person, they probably had different ideas of how it should be laid out."

"Actually," said an energetic voice, "their layout is the same."

Everybody, on the TV and in the gym, stared as Alexander appeared beside Bob. He glanced quickly around the room and nodded, almost to himself. "Yeah, they look the same."

Antipater got down on his knees. "Y-you, I c-can't a-a-actually be-believe that you're h-he-here!" he stammered. "A fellow Greek at last," he said in awe.

"Macedonian," Alexander corrected dismissively, "but right."

The president stepped forward and got down on his knees too. "Anything, anything you may need sir, I will be happy to provide. The country will be happy to provide it."

"I appreciate the offer, but aren't you, like, of higher status than me? I mean, you are the president of the country with the most powerful economy in the world, even if it is pretty bad."

"That is actually the case," he admitted, "but I haven't conquered the known world in ten years or figured out how to make so many people follow me. please, I insist."

"Well," Minondass said, "Alexander and I may need transportation and money. We need to get to the airport on a flight to California."

"I am honored to be helping you. You may use Airforce One. There are many people out there who would not hesitate to assassinate you on sight."

"I'm not worthy of that. Besides, only you can really use that without suspicion. I only need enough money for two one-way tickets to San Francisco. I'll figure out a way to get money. I have a credit card and a phone and everything. I only hope that they work here in this universe."

Before Obama could reply, the sound of gunfire filled the air. Everybody ducked down under the desk, except Alexander, who met the bullets head on. He turned and shouted a word in Greek, and a sword of bronze came out of his left arm, replacing his hand. He slashed at the gunman, who barely managed to avoid being beheaded. "Mr. President," the man said. "Are you all right?"

Obama stood and faced the gunman. "I am fine. Alexander," he gestured at the Macedonian, "means no harm."

"He appeared out of nowhere. He was hiding in here. You should have taken my advice and let me and my colleagues come with you. He could be an assassin for all I know."

"I would never kill him!" Alexander shouted in protest. "I'm a Democrat. In fact, I wouldn't ever, no that's not right." he stopped to correct his English. "In fact, I would never lay a finger on him, even if it wasn't weapon-clad and only with his consent!"

"You still need to be questioned. You have entered and are in close contact with the president's person. You could be a Korean soldier or Libyan spy for all we know. After you surrender your, your," he stopped, staring at the blade connected to Alexander's arm, "your weapons, you will come-"

It happened in a split second. The man flew back and hit the door of the opposite room. Several armed Secret Service, CIA, and FBI agents came rushing out, catching their leader. They fired and missed completely since Alexander was already in their midst. He was fighting them with his bare hands. He dispatched one with a sharp kick to the legs and an elbow in the ribs. He, like his leader, flew straight into another man. This triggered a domino effect, and when it was all over, the group lay in a heap of moaning bodies on the floor.

Alexander wiped his hands on his cloak and picked up Minondass. "I had to do that. They were about to put me in custody, even after we agreed on being allies. They should have known better. They were just doing their jobs though, protecting you, so I don't blame them for being suspicious. Now that I think about it, I have enough money for my ticket. Thank you for your generosity. I thought that you wouldn't want to make an alliance with someone from the Iron Age."

"I would have done so anyway," Obama said honestly. "I had to. Where will you go?"

"I'm going to San Francisco, like I said before. I'll be fine."

Alexander turned away. Before anyone could stop him, he jumped out the window. Once Obama, Bob, Vade, Ema, and Antipater saw that he was not injured, he waved and ran off around the building. A couple steps after he began, however, it looked like he disappeared.

Vade leaned toward the tiny video camera on the computer that had been recording the whole scene. "Now you know who we have allied with. Those who are watching and are in San Francisco, you'd better look out for him. I don't think he'll hurt anyone. Besides, he is only one person, even if he is a very distinguished person. He would never hurt our president, so he would never harm a random civilian."

"If you see him, help him, be kind to him," Antipater added. "He is a friend of our country and from what he was saying, I can tell that he is a very strong Patriot. Treat him like you would a fellow citizen who did no harm to you. Though very famous, he wants to be treated like a normal person. Honor that." With final gestures of farewell, the president and his advisors turned off their camera. The TV was black and silent. The eighth graders and every other student and teacher at Lawson Middle School was silent too.

6

4 Months 3 Days into Operation Resurrect

San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California

7:45 a.m

"How does the president deal with this?" Minondass shouted. "How did the security guys keep so few people out of the gate?"

"Only the gods know. I have no idea. Where's our bags?"

"On carousel 2E. It's right there. Oh come on!" Minondass and Alexander shouted in unison. "Stalkers! No wonder Obama has Airforce One!"

Minondass saw that he was ranting to empty space and thought that Alexander had ditched him. He saw his companion walk back with their two bags. "Did you call a cab or do we have to take Bart or Muney? I don't want to get into a fight on any of them."

"We're not taking a cab. We're renting a car. A Handa Civic to be exact. Aria and Aristander and Lisa and da Vinci have it waiting."

Alexander smiled. "How'd they get here?"

"Athena. She's here too by the way along with Ilium and Allin and Ackisan. They brought the Hellenic League's best agents. We'll be find. And here they come now!"

Alexander watched as three women approached with a boy at their heels. Aria Ray Alphis looked like a Median, with dark skin and jet hair, which were completely opposite to her green eyes' cheerful expression. She frowned. "Let me guess: people followed you and one of you shouted "Stalkers!" Aria's commander and his deputy nodded. "Okay then. The taxi guy's in waiting and the rental car's in the parking lot. Whatever you want. Very easy to get the taxi guy, considering the dude we got the car from was also Italian. Maybe Greek. I don't know."

"He said he'd met you," Lisa del Gioconda told Alexander. She made a tsk-tsk sound at a man who was approaching them. "Hey you!" he said as he came near. "I'm not done with you. I have a new Smart Car. Only seats two. Want to come with?"

Lisa whipped her belt off and held it like a whip. "Hey, lay off. I have a Venetian leather belt and I'm not afraid to use it. By the way, my friend can twist your arms together like pretzels, and very soft pretzels by the looks of it. Where do you work out, Curved lines: The Wizard Gym for Men?"

The guy stared first at Lisa, then at Alexander, who stared cooly back. He scampered away. "And that's how you threaten a guy without getting your hands dirty," Lisa said with satisfaction. She brushed a lock of brown hair out of her face casually. A tall blonde stepped to the front. Her blue eyes were keen and introspective, like a seer or oracle should look like. "Sev, you're awfully quiet. What's wrong?" she asked.

The boy, who had been standing behind them during the whole conversation, came forward. He looked like Alexander, except much shorter. "Well," he said, "I may have caused that guy to come here and flirt with you. I was buying us drinks and he came up to me and asked where you were from. I told him you were from Florence and he said that it must be so hard to live with such a beautiful woman and not be old enough to love her."

"Wow," Minondass said. He suddenly became eager. "What happened next?"

"Well," Sevander Alae Amon said, reaching into a pocket for his cell phone, "I have the whole thing on tape." He selected the video and the five of them watched the screen. Sev's image appeared and the man was next to him. He was brawny and had a very badly kempt moustache. "You're lucky that my friend's not here," Sev said confidently, not caring that the man was leaning down to meet him face to face, "he could throw you out that-" he pointed to a nearby window "window and have time to be there to break your nose when you got down."

"I'm going to throw you out the window," the man said, grabbing Sev by his shirt, but Aria came running up to them. "My friend's right!" she cried. She held a knife from her plate in her hand. "I can throw knives mister. I'm not afraid to throw this one."

The man slowly, but obviously regrettably, released Sevander. "And who is this "friend" you keep mentioning? Your boyfriend?"

"No! In fact, he would probably be horrible in a long-term relationship, even with me. He knows when his friends are being threatened by a guy who has a moustache like a hobo, and trust me, you do not want to cross him."

The man sighed. He lumbered away, grumbling about how he could have picked up a very fiery girl. "Nice!" Alexander shouted, clapping Sev on the back. "You should have let Aria and Lisa take care of him though. He could have hurt you."

"I know, but I didn't want to look weak in front of him. I thought that he would have time to get away before Aria and Lisa came back. Let's go," he suddenly said. "As Phineas Flin once said, "we're burning daylight."

The first thing Alexander noticed about their car was that "You were lying about what kind of car we had! This doesn't even look Japanese! It looks too, too..."

"Sleek?" Aria suggested. "And American or James Bond-ish? Yeah. I said that too." She laughed. "This car was specially made to fit all of us in the minimum amount of space while still following United States car standards. Fits nine people and about the same amount of pokemon. Not to mention it's narrow enough to fit into a lot of differently sized parking spaces."

The car was black, with a low roof, like a Soapbox Derby car except with an engine. "Electric," Lisa added, tapping the car's low hood. "Can go more than 200 miles on one charge, even at highway or faster speeds. Bluetooth phone capabilities, radio controls in the front and back, cupholders of course, and a few more surprises."

"Where we going'?" Sev asked.

"We're meeting up with the person who gave us this car. He wants to talk to us."

"I call shotgun!"

"Sire," Minondass laughed, opening the car door for his commander, "of course you get the shotgun seat!"

The drive didn't take long. "Park there." Lisa pointed to a hotel. Antipater, Leonardo, Athena, Odysseus, and Achilles are waiting. They have an, update, about our ally."

Lisa, Aria, and Aristander strode out in front as they entered the lobby. It looked like what Alexander and Minondass would think a secret agent headquarters would be: as unassuming and slightly too ordinary as any lobby could be. It was James Bond elegant, too, somehow. Aria walked up to an elevator at the far end of the room and pressed a button. With a ding, it opened, and everyone crowded inside. They exited at the top floor. Now that I think about it, Alexander thought as he followed the girls, this place looks like a hotel gone office building or a place that Bond would stay at. Mot sure how.

Lisa stopped at the end of the hall near an ice machine. She took a small plastic disc from her pocket. On each side were the letters HL in gold. She inserted it into the dollar bill slot and the machine slid aside to reveal a revolving door. The group stepped inside, and when they emerged, they found themselves in a spy's haven. Laptops were lined up in rows on a long metal table. Bookshelves and filing cabinets covered the walls. A monitor was hung up on the wall, showing a picture of the hallway outside. This wasn't even the best part. Alexander took one glance around the room and exclaimed as he saw each person in turn. "Athena! Odysseus! Achilles! Leonardo! Antipater! Darius! How'd you get here?"

"Same way you did!" Athena stood up and embraced him. "Flight okay?"

"Flight creepy," Minondass said. He told the story about the guy who flirted with Lisa. "Ooh," Athena said with a slight smile. "I would have wanted to see that guy get beaten up, but that would be unethical."

"Ms. Brazion," a man said, clearing his throat, "we have business. You can talk more about this unlucky fellow later."

"Sure Antipater," the goddess sighed, "no fun and games for you." She sat down, pulling out chairs for everyone. Darius stood up and bowed, like one of his suppliants had done. "Sire, did you see me on television?" He nodded. "You said you felt like you knew me. To Hades with that, you _did _know me. Nice!"

Antipater glanced at them, and they began. "Well, as I can see, you got here safely. I asked the president if I could come to San Francisco to see how you fared, and he agreed. What I really want to know is why have you flown here?"

Alexander cupped his chin in one hand and stared at the fellow Greek. "Well, I'm looking for someone. She's, a friend you could say, but we've never met. She's the one who created me. And no it's not Olympias. It's the author of Aristander's stories. I've found out that the world me and my friends come from is only a story, fiction, fantasy, here. She had written the events of my life that have happened so far."

"Tell me more about her."

"For one thing," Athena said, "she's visually impaired. Very smart but not the most responsible. Very passionate for history, pokemon, and many other random things. She began writing in January of 2010, starting with the story _Out _Ketching _Again. This story, when completed, was published in our world, but under Aristander's-" she pointed to the Telmisian, "name instead. This happened with every other story. Anyway, she designed our world so that we could do our own thing when she wasn't writing. Her plot would kind of pause until she got to writing again. During the summer of 2010, she wrote up a theory for how a book's world could be created. Basically it says that whatever you write happens in this world, and if specified, the people in this world can bend, if not break, the laws of physics. In the writer's world, these laws can be completely different or even nonexistent. That's how we were able to teleport here, while breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass."

"How did you guys figure out that you were in a story?" Mr. Amaplates asked Leonardo.

"We didn't know until Alexander began to enter this girl's dreams." Odysseus told Antipater. "He could see that she was writing about what was happening in our world. At times, he was able to communicate with her through her dreams and in other ways. She believes that our world is real and she's trying to find proof of it. She's desperate."

"She believes so strongly that we're real that she even prays to us before tests," Athena said. "She thinks that she bridges our two worlds. She's right. She made our world the way it is, and she feels responsible for everything and everyone that's in it. I don't blame her.

She hasn't told many people about her stories yet. She thinks that they're too weird and controversial. The burden of having to take care of her life and her world is too much for her."

"So," Antipater summed up slowly, "you guys came here to prove her right?"

Alexander nodded. "Actually, _I came here to prove her right. These guys are here to help. She first heard about me in sixth grade, and like flies to honey, she was automatically drawn in. She learned all the stuff she could about me and before you know it, she began writing. She always tried to come to me for advice and always tried to talk to me, to get any sign that I could hear her. She thinks that I truly care for her and could help her in ways normal people could not. And I can. At times when she was distressed, when she was asleep, when her mind was weakest, I entered it and assure her. She would remember this, and these dreams are the few pieces of proof that she has to try to prove that I exist.

I came here to not only make an alliance with you and the president, but to set her mind at rest. She desires to meet me more than anything and she wants to visit our world more than anything. She will get this chance."

"And," Antipater wondered, almost in a whisper, "who is this girl, I may ask?"

"She is Pauline Ugalde. Fourteen. Student of Lawson Middle School. Cupertino."

7

Lawson Middle School, Monday, 9:15 a.m

"And now," the announcer for that day said, "we bring you more news, broadcasted at 8:30 this morning." The TV went black, and another image of the anchorwoman appeared. "We have more news about the president's alliance. Apparently, Alexander Alae Amon has touched down at San Francisco International Airport barely half an hour ago. He has been seen near Peer 39 with his companion Minondass and two other women. Here is our live reporter Dah Lin with more."

"Thanks Pam," the on site reporter said. "I have talked to a couple people who have said that they have seen Alexander and his accomplices. Here are their reactions." A picture of a short guy with messy curls appeared. "I saw him with Minondass walking down Peer 39. Headed to Lefties. A place with stuff for left-handed people."

"What was your reaction?" Mr. Lin asked.

"I was standing close to them and, oh my god it was strangely awesome. I felt this feeling of command surround the guy, like if I ever had to follow his orders at any time I would do it." Another picture came on the screen, this time of a Persian man, who looked much like Darius, with dark skin and wide, dark brown eyes, except shorter. "I do not know whether it is because I am Persian or related to Darius is why I felt this, but I felt like he was looking into my mind when he looked at me. It was like he recognized me. Can't say how I know."

Mr. Lin came on again. "So far nobody has acted hostile toward Alexander and his company yet. In fact I was able to catch Alexander as he came out of Lefties." A video of Alexander, Minondass, Aria, and Aristander appeared. "So you're awkward at all going around here? I mean you've never been here and it seems that everyone's been noticing you."

"In my world, the city is the same. It's like back home. Except no pokemon, but... you get my point."

"Why are you here?"

"I have some business to take care of. I'm planning to go to Cupertino today. Don't know where yet... well even if I did I can't say. That would be a beacon for," Alexander paused somewhat awkwardly, like he was trying to come up with the right term, "people."

"Anything you have to say to people who are watching?"

"Wait we're filming I didn't know!"

"Why do you think I'm asking the questions?"

"Sorry. Just saying follow the president's advice. I don't know whether police records from my world appear here, but I'm famous, or infamous, if you will, for getting into police chases. Police have a tendency, no, they _do pull a gun or attack me just because I'm, who I am. Please don't do that. I came here peacefully. And besides for what I'm doing I can't afford to be in jail."

"Thank you for your time. And," Mr. Lin said, smiling at the other Hellenic League officials, "I'm sorry that the questions are only for Alexander."

"That's okay," the brown-haired woman said. "He likes the attention. I can tell. We're in a little bit of a hurry."

"Thank you all," Mr. Lin said. The video turned off. "As you can see it looks like Alexander is settling in well. He's as normal as a brilliant military commander can be here. As he said, he'll be headed toward Cupertino and people here in San Francisco as well as Alexander himself beg people there to be courteous. I'm Dah Lin, Kron 4 News."

"We'll keep you posted on this news story as soon as we receive word. We'll be back after the break, right here, on Kron 4." The TV turned back to the announcing girl. "Maybe, since Alexander's headed to Cupertino, he'll come to Lawson," she said. "We can only hope for that. Bye Lawson," the girl and guy said in unison, "have an exciting Monday."

So far, the day was mot very exciting. Nothing interesting had happened ever since the first news story had been released. However, now, people on YouTube were reacting. Some people were thrilled at this opportunity, especially professors, who knew that they could ask Alexander anything about his lifetime, and he would know the answer. The answer would not be corrupted or distorted by time either. Greeks all around the world were rejoicing, for they finally had proof that western civilization had been made thanks so him. Still others were not so excited. They ridiculed him even more, despite the fact that he could hear them. They said that it is rare that the good return, for heros come only once, but wrongdoers will always exist, ko matter what time they are from. These people would brace themselves for what was to come, and they had the right to do so.

10:15 a.m

This time, Pauline was sitting with some of her other friends. These were some of the few guys who didn't try to act cool, even if they were cool. They didn't act numb and somewhat unfeeling too. She was talking to Ian, a classmate of hers in Mr. Oncay's language arts class, when she heard the clanging. That sounds like metal, "Block it Ketchum! Block it!"

"I can't! He's too ah!" There was the sound of something and someone falling over. Someone would only say that if they were talking about swordplay or soccer, she thought. Wait. Those aren't the sounds of people playing soccer. How are there swords here?

Suddenly, something hit her and knocked her against a wall. "What the?" screamed Robert, one of her classmates from science. There was a crack as something hit him too, probably metal too. He fell unconscious. James, who was a new student, rushed in front of him, and he whipped off his belt. Before he could use it, the person who had struck Robert grabbed the belt and swung James around while James was still holding onto the other end, and Pauline heard the swish as the belt swung through the air. How can somebody be that strong? Only people who work out for many hours can do that. When the attacker let go, James crashed into the side of the building next to them.

"Admit defeat!" another random person shouted. "Get the other one Sire!" Ian, who was the only male victim still standing, backed up and swung his backpack off, and he tried to use it like a club and a shield. Like James though, the assailant grabbed the backpack and Ian and spun it around by one of its straps, striking his back and legs with his free hand and his sandals with bronze toe caps instead of steel ones. He fell beside James. "Who said that I couldn't pick a fight on a random school campus?" This guy has an accent. What did he say again?

Pauline's thoughts turned to the TV program and her stories. She had imagined that Alexander's voice was moderately pitched and that he put more stress on his consonants and emphasized his vowels than usual. Wait. Isn't that, "Oh my gods!" she shouted, and she dropped her cane on the ground and knelt. "Please don't kill me Sire! You can do whatever you want to Robert though."

"Who?" the guy asked, very confused. This is like my stories! she thought. "The guy who you hit first." she said simply. He'll figure it out.

"Oh. Sorry about that. Can't be too careful seeing that the Secret Service are kinda, after me."

"Kinda?" Ian groaned and stood up. "You knocked out a whole squad of the president's guards unconscious while the cameras were rolling! Dude? How? Why?"

"Let's just say, that, I've trained myself so that I can do that. Don't know how and don't ask how."

"Who are you? Why are you on campus?" James demanded, running toward them. "You can't be here unless you have permission."

"I, kinda already _do have permission. Besides, most likely even if I had no permission nobody would mind. I'm not here to try to put a garrison in the gym that would be weird and sad."

"Before you say why you're here," Pauline wondered, not knowing why she was asking this man this question at all, seeing that it was absolutely pointless, "_who _are _you?"

He stared at her with a "why do you ask, oh she's probably in shock I'll reassure her" expression. "I'm Alexander Alae Amon, commander of the Hellenic League, a recently made ally of Barock Obama. Alexander the Great."

Pauline was so stunned, happy, and scared that she did the first thing that came into her mind. She prostrated herself and groped around in her pockets for money or some kind of payment. "No need." Alexander helped her up. "Sorry for the... unconsciousness of your friend, I, didn't know, and I've been very on edge lately."

"Robert will be okay. Wait!" James interrupted himself and came to stand beside Pauline. "You are _the _Alexander the Great?"

"Yes! Which one do you think I was: the guy on the $10 bill? He's _dead, _still, _American, not I don't like him, has no title besides his name, first and last, _and, he's from the Caribbean. That's not my point though. Aria," "Hi!" a black-haired woman girl said happily. "Aristander," "Hey! Nice school," a blonde said. "And Minondass," "I am the only pokemon here right now that can talk. For now anyway." "They are here since, well, we know about your stories. You know why we're here?" He didn't give anyone time to answer. "We're here to show you that your stories are true."

Pauline stood there, confused and the slightest bit touched. "But, how will you do that?"

"Come with us and we'll show you." Alexander brushed his hands on his cloak. "I can't say this enough. Sorry about the knocking out thing, uh..."

"Ian and James." the two other guys said together.

"Ian and James. Let's get out of here. I'm hungry and on a schedule, and I seriously don't wonna deal with... people."

"Where we goin'?" Pauline asked.

"Where you wonna go? We've got half a school day on our hands. All your friends will still be taking classes or hanging out for break."

"Well, I do have some friends I want to find. Nellie!" she shouted. "Get over here!"

She came over, looked at Alexander for one second, and stood rooted to the spot. "You're, him! The girl on announcements was right! Nakita Janis get over here the guy's here!"

"What guy?" Nakita asked at first without needing to. "Where we going?" she asked, just like Pauline when she figured out the identity of their guest.

"We're pickit' up people." Aristander said, stepping forward. "Aristander Telmizzen Esteron. Royal Seer and the only person here besides Aria, my Athenian friend, that can pass off as an average person and not draw much attention. Minondass-" she pointed to the Pikachu, "is, not very good at not drawing attention. He always does. Wonna come with?"

"Would people know we were gone?" Janis asked. "Will we have to make up our homework?"

"Where we're going," Alexander said, gesturing to a black sports car in the nearby parking lot, "you won't even have to worry about homework."

St. Joseph, Mountainview California

11:00 a.m

"So Minondass, Aria, Aristander, and I go in first." Pauline finished as Alexander pulled into a parking space. "Why aren't you going in with us?"

"It'd be shocking. I want everyone to be prepared. Plus I want water."

"Okay. Where are we fitting into all of this?" Nellie asked.

"You can come if you want," Aristander told her, "but I don't think it's necessary. How about I call Lisa and Leonardo so they can take you three to San Francisco before us?"

"Sure!"

When Pauline, Aria, Aristander, and Minondass found the right classroom, Pauline knocked on the door. A woman with long brown hair answered it. "What can I help you with?"

"I have to pick up my friend Nika..." Pauline paused since she didn't know the teachers name. "Mrs. Picket," she said. "Come in. It looks like," she said to her class, "that we have visitors. Who are you?"

"I'm Pauline Ugalde, the girls are Aria Alphis and Aristander Esteron, and, the Pikachu's Minondass Ketchum. And yeah, they're from the news reports."

Nika stood up and ran to meet her best friend. "How'd you get here?"

"That's not important. Mrs. Picket," she turned to try to face her as squarely as possible, "you must know about the, other guy, from the news report." Mrs. Picket made a sound of agreement. "He's not here yet, but I'm not lying in any way when I say this, he will be here in one minute. If he doesn't come you can call me a liar. But if he does come, you have to listen to whatever he says."

"I will." she said. "Do you agree?" she asked the class. There were sounds like "Yes," and "Totally," and "I don't know," as the door opened, like Pauline had promised.

The room fell silent. "Am I in the wrong room?" he asked empty air or about twenty five shocked people. "I'm guessing that's a yes." He glanced at Nika, who was as calm as anyone could be meeting the world's most brilliant military commander. "Mrs. Picket," Aristander questioned, "what subject do you teach?"

"History."

"And if this, what is happening, is part of history, and that _he, is, who he is, would you believe him if he were to introduce himself?"

Mrs. Picket hesitated, and then replied "Yes. If what Aristander is saying is right," she asked very slowly, "then you _are, Alexander the Great?"

He nodded and stared cooly at her class, who was watching their teacher's face. She looked calm, like Nika, at first, but her expression suddenly became stunned and awed, and she gasped several times. "This, t-this is an honor. I do not think that my studies to become a history teacher do me justice now. I can't say, how, how this feels at all."

"Most people can't, so you're not the only-" Alexander was cut off when everybody began screaming and pounding desks. Some people shouted that it was the end of the world and "Please don't kill me!" One girl did not react, however. She sat in silence, mouth pursed, staring into space. "Andrea's not screaming." Nika whispered.

"Can you guide me to her seat?"

"Sure." Pauline stepped behind Andrea's chair. "Do you know," she said a little bit too loudly, "who your teacher's freaking out over? Do you know who it is?"

She waited for an answer, and no answer was said. "_He, is Alexander the Great. He is the most brilliant conqueror of all time. He made it possible for Christianity to spread to so many places, possible for it to go out of Judea. He made this school possible. You can at least credit him for that." Andrea still sat, unmoving, stubborn, unwilling to listen or believe. "He's not from here is he?" she finally said smugly. "You're not from here, are you?" She stood up and faced Alexander, who looked annoyed, indignant, and angry. Sparks of electricity danced between his fingers, his temper rose. "Duh! Of course I'm not from here! I'm Macedonian, uh, Northern-Greek. That's all the way in Europe and not only did I make this school founding possible, I spread Greek culture all over the Old World. That's how America knows how democracies work. That's why there are bananas here I brought them back to Europe, and therefore here. Don't know if this is true but I'm the reason why the name Alexander is even in the United States at all!"

"So?"

His mouth worked as if he was trying to find a word that would convey his feelings. Tiny bolts of energy arched out of his fingertips as he clenched his hands into fists. "So?" he growled through his teeth. "My name is known throughout the whole world. You must have heard of me _somewhere. _Anywhere! The only way you could not have known is...?" he paused, furious at himself for saying something so stupid and obvious. "_How do you _not know?" he demanded, striking at empty air.

Andrea shook her head, a fake look of thought appearing on her face, painted on top of her natural smugness. "I'm not that smart. Who do you think I am? A geek?"

"No! You _don't _have _to _be _a _geek in order to know about me! That's a fact of life! It's like how knowing about George Washington you don't have to be an American history nut to know his name. The same applies to me. And if you can hear me out for one more minute, that will make this much easier."

Andrea sighed, brushing long black hair out of her eyes. "Fine."

Alexander turned his back on the girl, facing the rest of Nika's classmates. Everybody listened, eyes, ears, attention, and everything else, riveted on him. "As you _must know," he said, seriously and sarcastically, although the two were not supposed to coincide, "I have made an alliance with the president. This means that if I need help, he can help me, and the other way around. But, there's another reason why I came here. This girl-" he pointed at Pauline, "is the one who made me, who I am now. She created my world: Pallet Town, Macedonia, Alexandria all thirty of them, and me and all of my friends. She has been attempting to get proof that I was a real person, not just a made-up character in one of her books, for, who knows how long? Visiting your class is actually part of proving her right. I want to pick up a couple of your students, with your consent obviously, Mrs. Picket." Alexander's tone switched from that of a Demosthenesian sophist to that of a commander.

"Of course!" Mrs. Picket didn't waver this time. She wanted to be part of this plan, whatever the plan entailed. "Who exactly?"

"Nika, Nya, and Sebrina." Nika's two friends stood up beside her. "Bring your backpacks. You will need them, considering you may have to pack a luggage. I have some business partners I wish you to meet." He turned to leave. However, he turned back and asked "Does anyone have a piece of paper?" About thirty pieces of paper appeared in peoples' hands. He took one, took a black-and-red pen from his belt, and lay them both on a nearby desk. "Everybody who thinks that Andrea needs to brush up on, no, take a thorough look at, her history, again, sign this please."

Nobody hesitated. Everybody signed their names, wrote messages, drew pictures, and someone even wrote down their phone number. "Mrs. Picket," Alexander told the teacher in his army's-business voice, "I may need assistance from you and or your students at a later date. Here is my cell phone number and other contact information in case you need it." He clipped a badge off his belt, and he handed it to her, while Mrs. Picket gave him a slip of paper with her email address and phone number on it for his reference. She took the black and silver, laminated, credit-card-sized badge and examined it. "Alexander Alae Amon," Mrs. Picket read aloud. "Hellenic League Commander, Greek god of brilliance and of pokemon coordination, Alexander the Great. Available for random, odd errands, settling Hellenic League disputes, and missions of any kind, even the impossible ones." She laughed. "Unique. Thank you."

"Now," Minondass said, "we're leaving." Everybody waved and shouted blessings, and somebody said "May the gods be with you." They stopped and corrected, "May your worshipers be with you. They will help a lot later."

8

4 Months 5 Days into Operation Resurrect

Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C

10:00 p.m, California Time, 1:00 a.m Eastern Time

"Mr. President, this meeting may seem unorthodox, seeing that it is so late, but I have a very valid reason for bringing you here."

"Macalli Brenter, you already interrupted my initial negotiations with Alexander in Florida, and that did not make the best impression, even if your intentions were true. What do you want now?"

"This is very important. Did you see the news reports, especially the ones coming from California?"

Barock Obama nodded. "Well, have you seen what the people from their news networks are saying, especially Kron 4? You know what they're saying? They're saying that he will _never do harm to us! He is too powerful not to have an influence. Have you seen or heard anything about what Alexander and his companions are doing to the country? It is uprising! Now, everybody is accusing us of risking a second Afghan war. People are turning on the police, the governors, anyone in state or national authority, they're accusing them all of treason since they think that they are cutting slack. They think that we are going to use Alexander and his companions and his army in order to settle issues with Afghanistan and Libya and Egypt once and for all!

"What's worse, people are accusing us, we who work in the federal government, the protectors of their rights, of helping him do this. And if some people have figured out that we are not helping him, they suspect that he wants to overthrow us, especially you, Mr. President, and the whole presidency-Congress-Supreme Court system altogether, and appoint a _king! Their king!"

The Secret Service man was about to continue when Mr. Obama stopped him. "How do you know this?" Mr. Obama asked. "What is your proof of this happening?"

"I got this video from inside a room in the Sir Francis Drake hotel," he said. "I had Mr. Amaplates give it to me. Part of a routine report, so I had to watch it. And damn, was it interesting." He booted up a laptop and inserted a DVD. On the computer's screen, it showed Alexander speaking with Antipater Amaplates and his companions.

"Well, as I can see, you got here safely. I asked the president if I could come to San Francisco to see how you fared, and he agreed. What I really want to know is why have you flown here?"

After a couple minutes, Mr. Obama paused the video. "You mean, he's looking for this person?"

The man nodded. "Listen to this." He fast-forwarded the video until he reached the middle of one of Alexander's sentences. "She's the author of Aristander's stories. I have found out that the world me and my friends come from is only a story, fiction, fantasy, here in this world. She had written the events of my life, my second life, that have happened thus far."

"Tell me more about her." Mr. Amaplates said.

"For one thing, she is visually impaired. Very smart but not the most responsible person in the world by anybody's standards. Very passionate for history, pokemon, and many other random things."

"Athena Brazion: a Macedonian cavalry commander for the Hellenic League." the Secret Service man introduced. "And she's the patron goddess of Athens, goddess of wisdom."

"She began writing in January of 2010 when she wrote the story _Out _Ketching _Again," the video continued. "This story, when completed, was published in our world, but under Aristander's name instead."

"Aristander is the Hellenic League's diviner and one of the commanders of their hoplite infantrymen. Also the army's historian and the king's Public Relations person, if you wish to speak in modern terms."

"This happened with every other story. Anyway, she designed our world so that we could do our own thing when she wasn't writing. Her plot would kind of pause until she got to writing again. During the summer of 2010, she wrote up a theory, or tried to write up a theory, for how a book's world could be created. Basically it says that whatever you write happens in this created world, and if specified, the people in this world can bend, if not break, the laws of physics in the world the author is in, in our case this world. In the writer's world, these laws can be completely different or even nonexistent than ours. That's how we were able to teleport here, breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass."

Mr. Obama stopped the video. "You're saying that these, people, are, from another universe? They are from here, and yet, they're not from here?"

The president's bodyguard nodded. "How about we call Mr. Amaplates? We need more information. He has been in contact with Alexander the longest. He knows much more about what makes him tick."

The man dialed a number on one of the numerous phones, and the Theban's Greek accent answered. "Brenter, what is it? I am in the middle of arrangements with Achilles and Athena. They'll be waiting."

"Alexander is planning something. Something you know about." He stopped. "Wait. Who the hell do you mean by Achilles and Athena?"

"People from the _Iliad are here too." Mr. Amaplates stopped too. "Hold it. What is it he is planning?"

"He has made the alliance with us in order to receive the resources he needs for his plan. He wants to take over the United States and its government, including the president, the Congress, _everyone, with his own people. Can't you see? He's taking down our own men like dominos. You saw what he did to my men. He rendered our training useless. He's tearing the country apart from the inside out. He's starting with the citizens. Then, he will tell the governors, the state legislatures, _everyone who we rely on within the states."

The president and his comrade could not see this, but Mr. Amaplates's face registered shock. He was shocked. Why would they ever think that such a thing could be true? He may be a world conqueror, a little flighty, and not hesitant to use force, but Alexander would _never do something like that. He had common sense. He was too nice, if he could ever be called nice. He knew enough about the government that even if he were to try to convince any of their officials that their own people were after him, they would either disprove him altogether or want evidence, and substantial evidence at that. Plus, even if Alexander _was planning to do what this Secret Service man said, he would need many more people and much more widespread resources. He didn't have the rest of his best troops, let alone his whole army. What could he do alone?

"What has he told you?" the man asked Antipater, interrupting his disheartened train of thought. "Has he made any indication of his plans to overthrow us?"

"He has told me that he is going to Cupertino to find a girl. Pauline is her name. She's the one who created these stories, and therefore, Alexander and his accomplices. And he has not said anything beyond that."

"I shall get approval from the Senate to send men after him." Mr. Obama took the phone from his guard. "From the time I met him, he did not look like he was trying to take apart the government. But the Secret Service, FBI, and everyone we've got, and of course I, will investigate."

"Thank you Mr. President," Antipater said, and the two parties hung up.

Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 11:00 p.m California Time

"By Zeus what have I gotten myself into?" Antipater grumbled, stalking away from the phone. He felt guilt and regret boil up inside of him. He was friends with Alexander. He couldn't turn him in just because he may _look like he wanted to take over the most powerful nation in the world. He was harmless in this sense, even if he was still armed and dangerous. What can I tell him? Do I tell him or anyone at all? Do I have to send forces to chase him? Do I tell him that the Secret Service is coming? If I do, he may not believe me.

Then, slowly but surely, a thought occurred to the Greek. "I'm going to help you, Alexander. You may damn well hate me after this is over, but you will be much better off than if I didn't do this. Let them come." he said to the empty room behind the ice machine. "Let the president come."

"Why would he come?" Antipater jumped. Athena was behind him, her gray eyes focused on his own. "What's happened?"

"You'll find out," he said, "and so will the king."

4 Months 6 Days into Operation Resurrect

Lakehaven Terrace, Sunnyvale California

10:45 p.m

"This is the best popcorn ever!" Pauline praised Nika. "How'd you move the machine?"

"Time, effort, and begging." Everybody took another handful of popcorn as a token of their gratitude. "When are we going to sleep?" Nya asked.

"When we're tired, or probably when we're out of popcorn." Sebrina chimed in. Pauline had never slept over at Nika's house with her other friends before tonight. This was a completely new experience since there were more people to talk to, more topics to discuss, and more of many things. She yawned. "I'm brushing my teeth. I'm tired already."

The other girls agreed, and in ten minutes, they were sitting or lying down on Nika's bedroom floor in their pajamas. "Why do you want to sleep early?" Nya asked.

"I don't know," Pauline answered honestly. She wasn't sure if it was caused by all of the craziness that had taken place only a couple days before, or whether it was because she knew that she was not alone. Whatever the cause, she was tired.

Pauline curled up beneath her blanket, and the girls said their good nights.

2:00 a.m

"Do you have all her stuff? Do you have all the stuff?" Minondass's small voice came out of the small speaker on the walkie-talkie-like device belted at his waist. Except this was not a walkie-talkie. Instead of relying on radio signals, these semi-digital cousins of theirs would seek out the electromagnetic pulse coming out of its fellows, and since this pulse was unique from any other electromagnetic-energy-emitting device, it could easily find another within a large radius. "Yeah, and good thing the gravity modules in pokeballs are installed in my pack. Makes life much easier and lighter. Are you done scoping out Nika's house?" Alexander asked through his headset attached to the Pellacom.

"There's a window in Nika's room, and we could also go through the window in the adjacent room. No one sleeps in there because it's full of junk. Or we could go through the front door or the back door." he said hopefully. "I don't want to leave a trace. I don't want to attract attention."

Alexander laughed. "What front door? Who do you think we are: burglars? No, we, are doing this legally. And you know that we _always attract attention."

"Through the windows then?" Minondass asked, a little bit of sadness in his tone.

"Yes. I'm headed right out. Meet me on the edge of the big grass area near the house."

"Okay." The Pellacom's signal turned off. Alexander unplugged a laptop and some other unidentifiable electronic device (what the Hades is this thing? he thought. This looks like that brailler thing except it's much smaller. I'll ask later.) from their plugs, and he took the cords with him as well. He flicked his hand, and he reappeared outside. "Man I love being an Olympian." he said to himself. "Ah, the glories of teleporting. Leaves pretty much no trace, except for some spare heat and electric and pokemonic energy floating around. Assuming that the police here and their instruments can detect pokemonic energy. No, no they can't."

Somebody waved to him, and he returned it. He approached Minondass, Aria, Aristander, Leonardo, and Sevander cooly. He set his pack down, and he pulled a small monitor off of his belt. "What Minondass has said is correct, about the windows and all. There is a small landing here-" he pointed to it, "and there is a bathroom here and what you Ketchum referred to as the adjacent room full of junk here."

"How are you two so certain of what the inside of the house looks like?" Sevander wondered. "Did you plant cameras?"

"I did," said Minondass, who seemed proud to have planned ahead without meaning to plan ahead. "That pencil that Alexander used is Nika's. I put a camera on it, and when she got home and took it out of her backpack and set it on the dining table, it recorded whatever it saw. As for getting the rest of the house? As soon as the pencil-cam recognized that it was in the house, it sent out tiny versions of itself to investigate the rest. I didn't think we would use the camera's footage, though. And I was dead wrong."

"Anyway," the operation's leader continued, "we'll go into the house in pairs, one pair to each entry point: the front and back doors, the window, and the junk-filled room's window. We come back here in fifteen minutes and we can decide which route is the best one."

"Yes sir." they said, but Aria stopped the group. "Sire, there are only six of us. There are four entry points."

Alexander laughed again, just like how he had laughed at Minondass not minutes before. "You know I'm never, ever, going through the front door. People will not suspect a house that is broken into as much if the front or back door is still locked. Actually, now that I think about it, we don't have to climb through any windows. I can teleport us in in groups. Who's with me." Everybody's hands went up. "Good. Minondass, Aria, Aristander, you're first." Alexander flicked his hand again, and the first group disappeared. "This damn well may work," Leonardo said, sure of himself. "At first, I thought that this was crazy. Now, I'm starting to think that this could actually work."

"Stop moving." Pauline heard Nika grumble, tossing and turning on the bed in order to lie in a more comfortable position.

"I'm not moving," Pauline answered sleepily. "Nya Sebrina-" "It's not me," Nya said.

"Shhh," Pauline hushed abruptly, "listen." Everyone leaned toward the door, and they heard, strange? No, familiar noises.

"When you said this place was full of junk, you weren't kidding."

"Why would i lie about that?"

"I don't know. Which door again?"

"And you call yourself the commander ouch! Why slap me?"

"I _am the commander, and you know how random I am Minondass!"

"It's that door right there," a slightly Italian accent said. "Shall we?"

"We shall," a young Macedonian voice answered, and there was the sound of a turning doorknob. "Should we hide?" Sebrina asked. "People have broken in!"

"I know who they are," Pauline said, "but why the Hades would they come?"

"We can ask." said Nika, and before Sevander could fully enter the room, she stood up and opened the door.

"Really Sev!" Nika exclaimed. She sounded surprised, happy, and annoyed all at the same time. "Why?"

"Because we wanted to show all you guys something." he said. "They're all awake. Thanks a lot Amon."

"Okay so the plan wasn't fully detect-by-people-proof, but it's better than nothing!"

"Why in the name of Astyages and Kyros's head are you all here?" Pauline demanded. "We were sleeping! You can at least respect people's sleep time."

"I did. Be lucky that I let you guys sleep for a couple hours."

"Okay," the girl sighed, exasperated. "But what did you guys want to show us?"

"Well, you know how a couple days ago, we left your friends you know Nakita, Nellie, and Janis in the city? We're meeting them."

"This late? This early?" Nya grumbled.

"Yeah. We already packed your stuff-" "You broke into my house?" Pauline, Nya, and Sebrina shouted. "Why?"

"Specifically, I did," said Alexander. He sounded unfazed, despite the fact that he had probably broken many laws when he had committed the crime. "At least I didn't have to deal with how awkward it would have been to have walked in while you were doing homework or something."

"But really?" "Pauline," the Italian man said quietly, "come on. The king did what he did for a good reason. Be happy that we weren't caught."

"I guess so, da Vinci?" she asked.

"Yes. Come," he turned to the operation's leader. "We are a little late. The van is close by. Oh," he said to the sleepy girls, "you guys can sleep in the car."

"Hallelujah!" they cried, and Alexander teleported everybody out of the house.

"Nice ride!" Nya said. "Where'd you get that? Hertz?"

"Nah, custom made. It _was a van. Now, it's, a sports car that's slightly wider than it should be. This seats all of us, it fits all your guys' stuff, and, it has a few surprises."

"Oh gods," Pauline said. "Please don't tell me you added equipment that even the military doesn't have."

"Think about it this way: just _pokeballs are pieces of technology that the military doesn't have." Alexander opened the four doors, and everybody sat down, seating himself next to Pauline. Almost as soon as she leaned back, she fell asleep.

4 Months 1 Week into Operation Resurrect

Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 6:45 a.m

Pauline woke up sitting in a chair. "What, where the Hades am I?" she asked.

"We are," answered Leonardo from close by, "at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. Don't ask me how we got rooms, we just did. We got two rooms, and your friends and like everybody else is next door." He stood, helping Pauline to her feet. They walked into the next room, where they were met with shouting, laughing, and, "Is somebody playing a video game in here?" Pauline asked. "Wii?"

"Whoa, you're good. Specifically Pokemon Battle Revolution." Pauline was silent for a second. "Wiis and pretty much all video game consoles are the same in our world. Don't worry. We have 3D though on our Wii, and you don't need a 3D TV or special glasses either."

"Hey da Vinci!" Alexander called, beckoning them to sit. "We've been waiting like, for like, an hour!"

"She's not trained dude. She can't run on less than nine hours of sleep."

"Sorry. By the way, I received word from Antipater Amaplates that the Secretaries of Defense and State and the president will be going to a meeting on Capitol Hill where they are going to talk about us and the League. I think they want to figure out whether they want us to be counted as citizens, foreign dignitaries, or rebels. It may be on TV right now." He switched off the Wii, reached for the remote and turned it to channel 4. Pam the anchorwoman was on again. "And now, we bring you live coverage from Capitol Hill as the President discusses the Hellenic League." The TV showed an image of the president standing behind a podium. Cameras and microphones were angled toward him, and not all of them were from United States press people. Achilles, Odysseus, and Athena were there as well, covering the action like everyone else, since Antipater had arranged so that they could do this. Their cameras were broadcasting for the thousands of Hellenic League officials back at home, the second audience. The president was in the middle of a speech. "As you all know, the Hellenic League is an ancient Greek culture-preserving organization, as well as a pokemon-centered one. As Alexander Alae Amon, its head, has told me, their members are specialized in many fields. Most are normal small business owners who give them information, but they are also historians, teachers, writers, and scholars. However, sources close to me have told me recently that the Hellenic League and its members are mostly soldiers and their officers, engineers, and spies. The Secretary of State, Defense, and I, as well as my other colleagues, have concluded that there is a rival military force within our country, no matter how small it may be, and because of this, the United States' military, Congress, and I will act accordingly. Even as we speak, brave men and women who have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, are scouring the country, looking for Alexander and his officials.

I admit that I did not know anything about who I had made my alliance with only weeks before I stand before you today. I now realize that I have allied myself with a man who can do much damage to the government, its officials, and those we govern, one who has experience with doing just this from his countless battles. He is no longer an ally, but an enemy that now, thanks to his partnership, has gained the access needed to penetrate our government and tear it apart from the inside out. He has corrupted our Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and the officials hired to work in the Time Space Investigation Bureau, and he has already begun to influence the minds of our citizens. I assure you all that we here in Washington will work unceasingly to find this disloyal commander and his generals of the army which will bring us to our knees. We will not sit and wait for him, like Greece and Persia had before us. We shall bring the battle to him, and now, in one of the rare instances where Congress and I must propose and approve the carrying out of, I declare the United States of America to be in, until Alexander the Great is found, to be in wartime." Mr. Obama raised his arms, and the crowd roared like the assembly that condemned Philotas, Alexander's general's son, Perminion, to stoning, and just as loudly and eagerly. The microphones in the room were heard to be crackling because the acclamations were so loud. They were reaching a fever pitch when the screen switched back to showing images of Pam and her fellow anchorman. Even though she was professional, she was shocked. "For the first time since 911, the United States is preparing for war, but not with people from another country. Our rivals are from a different universe altogether. We will bring you more coverage as soon as we can get it, right here, on Kron 4."

The room was quiet for only a moment. Then, there was a flash, a crashing sound, and a scream. Pauline dropped to the ground and felt pain coarse through her. "How could they think that?" she heard. No, she thought. No, somebody was speaking in her mind, or rather, thinking for her. "How in the name of the Indus and its blasted summers do they think I can do that?" It was Alexander's voice.

"Think what?" Janis asked. Since her voice was muffled, she was probably on the ground too.

"How the Hades could they think that I would destroy the United States! I love this country almost more than my empire and Pella." Alexander's voice changed. He didn't sound angry anymore, more brisk, stern, determined, and lucid. He knew what he needed to do, and he was not going to carry out his plan in anger. "And," he said, voice lowering, a smile of satisfaction in his tone and most likely, on his face, "I know when it can start." There was the sound of his blade emerging from his arm, just as the door flew open with a bang.

The sound of machine guns being loaded filled the air. "Sheathe your weapon, and no harm will be done to you and your companions," a man said.

A cold laugh responded. "Macalli Brenter, do you think I would _ever follow your orders? Have I ever followed your orders?" he asked, clear and cold as ever.

"No."

More laughter. "Then why do you expect me to do it now, in front of all my colleagues?"

"Because I am not alone this time." Mr. Brenter signaled with his pistol, and several dozen heavily armed men emerged from the ends of the hallway behind him and from the surrounding rooms. "It was easy to find you, considering that Mr. Amaplates has to give reports to Gates and I."

"Amaplates works for you?"

"In a way, yes. He is not in the government. He is a, friend, of sorts. He, Bob gates, and I work together. Oh, and Vade Tenner. Those two are not officially with the executive branch, they are around just in case we need them."

Alexander's anger renewed itself. He stepped closer. "Amaplates is playing both ends then?"

"You should not rely on a free man these days," Mr. Brenter said, as if he were slightly disappointed. "I thought that you would know better, considering that you have fought in many more battles than I, and because of your rank. Even I-" Before the Secret Service man could finish, Alexander was on top of him. Gunfire filled the air. Leonardo, who sat close to Pauline, pulled her down, as she had stood up to listen to the confrontation. "Get out through the window!" Minondass shouted, the clinking of his sparring blade following. Nakita, Janis, Nellie, Nika, Sebrina, Nya, and the Hellenic League officers raced toward the window. The screams of falling soldiers already accompanied the sounds of dropping weapons. The twenty or more men left standing ran after Alexander, who was just behind the last pair of escapees, Pauline and Leonardo. He followed them close behind as bullets whizzed above their heads, and one was so close to Pauline's ear that she could feel the air around it move as it broke the sound barrier.

When they hit the ground, Alexander shouted something to da Vinci. "Go! I got her." He grasped the back of her shirt and swung her on his back, and Pauline clasped her arms and legs about his neck and waist. "I'm never been able to stay like this for long," she said into his ear. "I always get tired and fall."

"You have my word that I'm not gonna let you fall. Hold on."

He seemed to run so fast that it felt like his feet didn't even touch the ground. Police sirens wailed down the street as Alexander threw Pauline into the back of the van where everybody was sitting. She gripped the arm of the people sitting on either side of her. "I can't believe this is happening," she said. She felt fearful and excited. She had written schemes like this many times. Now, she was apart of one of them. "Me neither." It was Nika.

"I agree." Nellie said. "You always said that your stuff was crazy, and I didn't think that you meant it. This seems too crazy to be real life ah!" she yelped as the car suddenly sped forward. "Like the police chases. Didn't think they could happen," she shouted over the noise.

"Well it's happening," said Aria. "I've been through this many times, but it still feels wrong, like law-breaking and life-threateningly wrong. But it's exciting too. Step on it!" she yelled to Alexander as the sounds of enemy motorcycles and gunman, crossing the street, trying to shoot us, came near. Alexander spun the steering wheel all the way around, causing us to spin in a circle, and the tires screamed for their lives, just like some of their fellow passengers. At the same time, more gunfire erupted. "Never fear my fellow refugees," he said as calmly as if we were walking to the park, took a wrong turn, and only he had known the right way. "You know when I said this thing had a few surprises? These mini ballista and nine-millimeter machine guns are some of them. They're not deadly, so we won't be convicted of murder and this. Oh crap. Didn't think we'd be this close to the bay."

"And someone's shooting our rear tires," shouted Minondass. The peer they were driving down had no side streets, only the bay looming ahead of them. "These tires aren't actually tires," Leonardo told us. "They're like tank treads. We're good."

"There are no other streets around us, like, the road is straight, and it's kind of a dead end," Nika explained. "Sanfran Cisco Bay is the only thing in front of us."

Pauline immediately figured out what Alexander was about to do. "You wouldn't!" Pauline shouted to him.

He let go of the wheel with one hand and laid the other on the gearshift, which he had ignored until this time. "You guys hear about how on MythBusters or in a James Bond movie where they installed ejector seats in a car?"

"Oh gods," almost everyone replied. We all knew about both shows he was talking about, and now, we all knew what he was about to do. "Well I thought so. You may want to hold onto something, like the people next to you or a seat belt." There was the click of a button, a whoosh, the sound of the sunroof opening, the rushing wind, the scent of water, and Alexander saying "Too late."

9

4 Months 8 Days into Operation Resurrect

Hard Rock Cafè, Sanfran Cisco, 12:00 p.m

"Crap. I can't believe he got away." Macalli Brenter cursed, despise the fact that he was surrounded by his fellows. "He is so-o damn smart. He drove straight into the bay, and then he and his vehicle vanished. We couldn't find any trace of it."

"No kidding." Bob Gates replied, sipping his drink. "Even on our standards, he's good. I don't know where his guns came from though. Probably hidden."

"He's mot just good." Vade Tenner said bluntly. "He's great, not to sound too clichè. It's very true. We flew out to see most of our force wounded, paralyzed, and some dead. Fantastic."

"I told you that this was what he would do," Antipater Amaplates said, as bluntly as Mr. Tenner. "He hates to surrender. Heck, he probably doesn't know what that means. And him being a Greek god allowed him to make all his stuff vanish. He could be anywhere."

"I've never had so fight a foe who, even without modern weapons, can best me." Mr. Brenter said, shuddering. He glanced around the crowded cafè, as if he expected Alexander to emerge from a corner, blade outstretched. "He's naturally intimidating. I didn't feel like fighting him."

Mr. Amaplates look troubled. He looked around nervously too. "It's his eyes." he gave voice to some new information. "When he is angered, and when he looks at you, he can control you. Minondass told me. He felt it almost countless times. Even I felt it, even though Alexander was not angry. This power surrounds him."

"So we must train ourselves to resist Alexander's..." Mr. Tenner suggested. "His Iris Fire."

"To train ourselves to resist his Iris Fire, then?"

Everyone except Mr. Amaplates nodded. "I do mot think it is possible. The harder you resist, the stronger it becomes." When he saw that his companions, especially Tenner and Gates, were ignoring him, he sighed. "Fine, do with this what you want." He stood and left. "Wait," Mr. Brenter said, beckoning him back. Amaplates turned. "Are you meeting us in D.C?" He nodded. "Good. I hope he will, no, I hope _Alexander will meet us there too."

"He will," the Theban said slyly. He picked up his backpack, and continued on his way.

He walked past single men and women and families, all carrying suitcases. He went through the security line with out any trouble as he only carried his briefcase. Four people awaited him. "How did it go?" one asked, sapphire eyes concerned.

"Odysseus, Gates and Co. want me to come with them to D.C. They're gonna wait there for Alexander. Odysseus, I was afraid that this would happen. I didn't think my plan would go pear-shaped."

"You didn't think that Gates and Brenter wouldn't send people after him?" Achilles' bright eyes pierced him with a questioning, intense, green laser beam. "Even I admit that Brenter had some nerve attacking the king, sending his best men, probably knowing that they'd be cut down."

"In my mind, that was a pathetic operation," Athena said, with the voice of Peracles: brisk and obvious. "That wasn't the only thing Macalli has planned. I suspect that he wants to send another force.

"No." the fourth member of their party said.

"Wait." Antipater looked at him, long and hard. "You were the person on television who claimed to know Alexander since you were Persian?"

Darius laughed. "Yes. I was sent along with Athena and the others. Anyway. Was that what he said? Did Gates want so send a second force?"

The Greek nodded. "I think he wants to bring Alexander to the Supreme Court. He has, after all, in his mind, committed a federal offense. We're not letting him go there then?"

"No. We'll tell him. We'll bring you along. You have to tell him about what you've done, well, he'd probably find out though. But you have to tell him or else he'll blame us and we could be demoted. That rarely happens."

"Athena," Achilles pointed to his watch, "we have ten minutes to board our plane. Should I text the king then?" Athena nodded.

Sanfran Cisco Bay, 10:45 a.m

It was wet and cool, and she could not think.

She was dizzy, and her thoughts did not cement themselves, not fully, anyway, not yet. Any detail she tried to grasp at evaded her.

How is this possible, Pauline asked herself.

She was on her back. She tried to turn over, but a hand gripped her arm. She struggled, and the grip turned into a firmer, gentler, one of caution. "Don't try turning over."

"Where am I? Where are we? Am I injured? Is anyone injured?"

"We are floating in the middle of Sanfran Cisco Bay right now. Somehow part of the van survived, but the rest sank to the bottom, I guess. You're not hurt. Everyone else is fine."

She tried to figure out who was speaking, sorting through her muddled thoughts. "Alexander, how the Hades did we get here?"

"I had to eject everyone straight into the water. I spun the car again, and apparently, it fell in the water too." Someone else stirred nearby, and there were some gasps. "Where? How-" "Minondass," Pauline explained, "we're in the middle of the bay. The van's gone."

"Oh great," an annoyed girl said. It was Nellie. "Now we have no way of getting back to the mainland. They'll find us, and we'll go through this all over again."

There was a beeping sound. "I got a text from Athena. "At Sanfran Airport." Alexander read aloud. "Bring plane. Gong 2 DC. Amaplatz with Achillz & Odysseus." Okay. They're headed to D.C without us. And they have Antipater with them. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but we have to meet with them. I want to know what's happened while we were away."

"If we can get back to land, we can do all those things. But none of us can swim well enough," Aria pointed out, as precise as Eumenes.

"We don't need to swim. I'll just do what I did to break into your guys' houses."

"Oh my gods Alexander." Pauline was both gratified that there was a way out of their situation and unbelieving that Alexander would and could teleport them out of here, and she was wrong.

Now, everybody was standing in a open space, like a lot of some kind. "Now we're near the hangers for airplanes at Sanfran Cisco International Airport. I'm surprised that Ackisan had enough sense to think this up."

"Sire," Leonardo asked, "what did Darius think up?"

"He asked the people here if we could store some planes here. You know, in case we needed to fly somewhere. He suspected that us flying on commercial flights would pretty much put everybody in danger. And it's already here on the runway."

"Oh no, please don't tell me that the Hellenic League has aircraft!" Nika said. "First that van, now this?"

"Be glad that we don't own tanks." was the indignant and random reply. "Come on. It's convenient that all of us at the EETA have pilots licenses."

"The EETA?" Sebrina repeated. "Is that another organization of yours?"

"Yeah. It's, uh... have you ever heard of the Agayma?" Almost everyone shook their heads. "The Agayma are the cavalry and infantry that are supposed to protect the Macedonian king in battle. Well, I took some people from she Agayma and turned them and myself into a special unit of the army, kinda like a police department's SWAT team. They're called the Extra Enforcement Tactics of Alexander. My SWAT."

The plane was barely half the length of a normal commercial liner. It didn't need so fly many passengers. "It seats sixty, first class for everyone, all she security features of a normal 747, and, again, a few things that until she right times comes up for us to mention them, is classified." Leonardo guided Pauline to a seat. "When the king said that we all have pilots licenses, that's true. Our flight will follow regulation as usual, so Minondass and Alexander are co-pilot and pilot respectively." When an awkward silence followed. "He has a license. Ironically, to most historians who know about it. A son of Zeus in his own domain. But if any of them decides so come out here, Aria, Aristander, or I can fill in.

"We don't require you to turn off electronic cevices since the MythBusters confirmed that cell phones don't affect an airplane's devices," Minondass said over the intercom. "However, you may not turn them on until we are a safe altitude. As you can see, we still have the back door and the two side doors over the wings and the inflatable slides. We'll tell you if and when we need to use those. Our flight will take about four hours, so like, it's 12:00 right mow, so we should get there 6:00 California time and 9:00 Eastern time. Wind speeds are at around eighteen miles per hour, so we shouldn't be delayed. Thank you for flying with the Hellenic League, and have a nice flight."

"Well at least it was short," Sevander slid into the seat beside Pauline. "How is flying? I've never been on a plan" before."

"It's awesome," Leonardo laid his hand on Sev's. "It's what Daedalus wanted so do, until he failed. But this won't fail. It can't fail. You have my word, and by extension, Minondass's word and the king's word." Sevander relaxed. "I can catch up on my sleep," Pauline said with relief, and she lean back, as the engines shot them into the sky."

10

4 months 10 days into Operation Resurrect

Watergate Hotel, Washington D.C.

8:30 p.m, Eastern Time, 5:30 p.m, California Time

While standing in the bathroom, Bob Gates was smiling to himself. Then, his cell phone rang loudly. He glanced at it, and he didn't even bother to look at the text Antipater had sent him. "Antipater's on his way. Good. All we need is the "Great." He turned away from the mirror and smiled again at his friend. "Vadetterr, we've got work to do. You're going to take your primary role again."

Vade adjusted his satchel and took his friend's pose. They were Achilles and Patroculus, both combating Hector for the sake of the other.

They walked side by side to the lobby. "Want to look at this place before all hell breaks lose?" Vade asked. They both nodded.

"It's a good thing you asked. I actually wanted to take a walk. Come on. I have something to tell you."

They walked out of the hotel which was famous for Richard Nixon's scandal. They were about to begin another.

"Vade?"

"Hmm?

"You know what?" Vade shook his head. "This whole thing, the Time Space Investigation Bureau, that's not what I wanted. And you know that I love the president's work as much as the next guy. And you have recently found out that I have studied Alexander the Great and his life and how he wanted Greeks and Persians to rule together. You know what I want to do?"

Vade understood at once. "You want Macedonians and African Americans to rule together?"

He nodded. "The STIB was only a ploy to get them here. I gave this another name. I gave this whole Zeus-damned, or Zeus-blessed, mission, another name."

"It has to do with Alexander?"

"I did not think about searching for and meeting Alexander at first. Then I realized what he had done and that so many people have wanted his guidance again. Now, they all have it."

Vade sat them down on a bench. He looked at Gates with his hazel eyes. "What did you name this whole escapade?"

"Operation Resurrect."

Vade was not shocked. He looked very Hephaistion-like: understanding, yet fascinated. "You mean, you entrust the affairs of _our government to the most brilliant military commander of all time? An Iron Age commander?" Gates inclined his head. "I am awed, but not at you. I am awed, at..." Vade trailed off. He was looking to the side, as if he were talking to somebody else. "What's wrong?" Gates was concerned.

His friend pointed to something to their left.

It fit into the surroundings somehow, but if you looked at it for one second, you knew that it did not exactly belong there.

It was tall as the actual man, and it had no plinth. It was tinted much like life: fair, with red around his face and chest. He was not compact like his previous statues, but slim and light. He stood with one foot in front of the other, knees bent, hands positioned as if to strike a blow at anyone passing by. His face was calm, intense, calculating, and anything and everything else, but none of them, all at once.

"It is his eyes, isn't it?"

"What?"

"It's his eyes you noticed?" Gates wondered, even he knew the answer.

"I didn't notice him there until now." Slowly, he stood and walked toward the sculpture. "Vade?" Gates called.

He did not listen. He stood before Alexander and stared at him, searching his face, his Zeus-Ammon blessed face, trying to decipher what Alexander's expression meant, which Gates knew he was doing as well. "No wonder Cassander was so afraid of his image. It... he, he is so lifelike. Lisyppus and da Vinci did an amazing job."

"How did he get here? That is all I want to know."

"Only the gods know how he got here. I don't think it matters. Anyone could have put him here." Vade beckoned Gates, and the Secretary of Defense followed his friend's example. They stood before the image, thinking about who they, eventually, had to meet, not in peace, but in arms. "You were lost somewhere in the shifting sands of Egypt, after being worshiped in Alexandria for half a millennium as a god." Gates spoke not to Alexander the statue, but to Alexander the conqueror, the Great, the man who could, if he desired, snap his fingers and eliminate everything that the founding fathers had worked to build. "You and your bier were hijacked by your brother to be brought back to your city. You were not supposed to come back to us. You were supposed to suffer the fate of Achilles and his lover. Hades has neglected his duties."

"I don't think Hades neglected his duties." Vade spoke his thoughts, his Patroculus to Gates' Achilles, and the supposed divinity. "Heracles was a demigod, so half of him lives on Olympos, and half is in Hades. This immortal part is what we fight. If it were the mortal, that one confrontation in Florida should have taken care of him. But he fed off our power, and he used it against us at ten times its original affect. We cannot kill him Bob. If that is what you wanted us to do as a last resort, we cannot do that."

"Well what the Hades can we do, if he can't be killed, if he can evade the most highly trained soldiers in the world-" Vade rolled his eyes, "Besides his own," he clarified, "and probably even his own, and no matter how severely wounded he is, rise up ten times stronger than before? No mortal, none of us, are built to be able to contain all that power. The only thing I am sure of is that Alexander's abilities can be tapped into, the energy produced by them or that causes them, I mean. We may not be able to kill him, but if we can find a way to render his abilities mute, then he will be a sitting duck."

"How will you do that?"

"Well, Vadetterr, only one man of ours knows. And he's on his way. We can wait."

"You wouldn't even think of capturing Antipater!" Vade, instead of his usual quiet ascent, protested, waving his hands. "Can't we just get Minondass or something to sell us?"

"Even the Hellenic League's most minor officers have powers that excel us. I want somebody who can't teleport to help us."

"But you'll have to get past Darius, Athena, Achilles, and Odysseus."

"A Persian, two _Iliad heroes, and the goddess of Athens." Gates pretended to think. "They'll be easy targets. Besides, Antipater said that they have already landed, which was about half an hour ago. They should still be at the airport."

"Do we need back-up? We're unarmed."

"I'm not worried about that. If these Macedonians are reasonable, they should know when to surrender. Their "King" is thousands of miles away, and he can't travel at the speed of sound." Gates turned away from the statue and headed back toward the Watergate. "You have that beretta and blade that Amaplates gave you?" Vade nodded, almost impatiently. "Why wouldn't I have them?"

When they arrived back in their room, Gates approached the phone and made several calls. "I need you and all your officers, SWAT, everyone, to be armed and ready to deploy. We have a situation. Yes it deals with him. No, it's one of our people. He's with some of his officers. We want you to get to the airport and wait for me and Vade. If you happen to find them, take them and bring them to the Watergate. Thank you."

He hung up. "I don't think we need our arms after all. All we need to do is let the police take care of this. Those four officers should be unarmed, unprepared, and doubtful of what their course of action should be without Alexander." He leaned back in a chair, phone in one hand, television remote in the other. "Come now Sire, you do not want to flee, do you not?" he said in a mocking tone. "Not even Darius, your cowardly foe, has taken to flight. And like you said after Issos, "No matter where you choose to hide yourself, be sure that I will seek you out." Prove your Greatness Alexander. Because soon I shall take it."

11

Washington D.C Airspace, 6:00 p.m, California time, 9:00 p.m, Eastern Time

"Attention passengers, we will touch down in our nation's capital momentarily. Please turn off all electronic devices and secure all seat backs and trays to the upright position." the American Airlines attendant said. Who knew that we actually got here alive? Damn, we are lucky. Thank God, or rather, thank Zeus. Antipater Amaplates had never felt so grateful in his entire airplane-passenger life.

Athena fidgeted and glanced out the nearby windows. "To think," she said in awe, "I have seen my city do politics, but I've never been here. This place was burned down by the British, and it was visited by so many people: dignitaries from Egypt, China, Japan, and now, Macedon.

Somebody shoved Athena. "Go!" they said impatiently. She did not obliterate the man like a Greek god would probably do. She only sighed and followed her friends.

As soon as they stepped off the plane, something latched onto Antipater's backpack, and it pulled him down. "Let him go!" he heard Athena yell, and there was a grunt of pain. He turned his head to see Athena with her sword in her hand, and Achilles, Odysseus, and Darius standing around her, all holding red and white balls. Pokeballs! "Skiddy, use Barrage!"

"Starly Wing Attack!"

"Snivy Razor Leaf!" The trio of Pokemon's attacks flew over him, and there were sounds of shouting men. A gunshot went off, and people in the terminal screamed and began heading towards the exits. Somebody pulled Mr. Amaplates to his feet. "Go!" Darius shouted. "We can handle them!"

"I almost know nothing about you people, but I'm not letting you do this. Darius, come with me!"

He grabbed the Persian's hand, and they ran toward a nearby elevator, but a man with a heavy-looking suitcase grabbed them both. A gun barrel appeared from his suitcase. "If you don't resist, nobody gets hurt. That goes for your cat too."

Darius tried to bend for Skiddy, but the man pressed the barrel to his neck harder. "Skiddy, return," he said, and the Pokemon disappeared into its pokeball.

The man looked them over. "Mr. Brenter will be happy to meet you, Sire," he said mockingly.

"Brenter is here." Amaplates asked, even when the barrel was only a half inch from his throat.

Their capturer nodded. "Many others, along with Mr. Brenter are here, and you are about to meet them."

Washington Monument, 6:45 p.m California time

"The nation's capital. Didn't think I'd come here besides for if I was convicted of treason. And that day's come. Probably."

"Wow," Pauline muttered. "When I thought about how sarcastic Alexander could be, I didn't think it would end up like this."

"Well, even we can't anticipate everything." Leonardo said gently. "Where we going." he called to Alexander.

"Looking for somewhere where we can regroup. Amaplates sent me a text like two minutes ago that said that we should head to the Watergate. Isn't that where Richard Nixon was, like, reading papers he shouldn't read?"

"Yeah. Who knew? That place's second scandal is coming to get a room." Minondass said, unusually witty. "How about Achilles and the others? Did they text?"

"No," Sevander said, pointing to a bench across the street. "But the texts will come. Our phones aren't this universe issue, after all."

"Well," Sebrina said, sitting down, "now what do we do?"

Before anybody could answer, there was a yelp and a scrape. Sebrina jumped up, only to find that three people surrounded her. "Unhand them!" one shouted. "Put your hands up."

There was a rough shout, and the sound of shattering glass. "What are you doing?" It was Alexander. "This is Sebrina, and she has no intention of hurting us! You should have gotten my memo."

"Sire," a woman said, a little afraid, but more urgent than afraid, "that is not important. Why Achilles did that was because, well, this will make more glass break. We just got off the plane, but police or whoever they were, intercepted us. They have Antipater and Darius, and they ran into an elevator, and only the gods know where they are now."

Alexander cursed in Greek or Macedonian. "We must go back to the airport and find some witnesses. We need information from anyone we can find."

"Sire?"

"Odysseus?"

"There is no need to go back to the airport. I know someone."

"Who, exactly?"

"Zeki Mysterio."

It only took five minutes for the archaeologist to appear at the bench where everyone was sitting. He was about to do the prostration, but Alexander lifted him to his feet. "Zeki, we need you. We need you to tell us, if you can, where Antipater Amaplates has gone."

"Sire, what happened to him?"

"He was captured by some D.C police. We need help to get to the Watergate. We also need back-up."

"Be prepared to go on another police chase," Nellie said. "So you're this Zeki everybody's talking about?"

"The one and only. I know where the Watergate is. Just go about half a mile that way." He pointed.

"Well you cannot go without being armed."

"Sire," Nya said, the first time she had talked in several hours, "you don't have any spare arms."

Alexander clenched his hand into a fist and struck out in front of him. Now, Zeki had a helm, light cuirass, and round shield. Several javelins were strapped to his back. He looked at his armor. "That what you can do now that you're an Olympian Sire. The first time you've done it."

"Remember when I said that I would promote you?"

"Yeah."

"Now, you are officially one of my squires. Your first order of business: find us a car or go-cart or anything that'll get us there. I've found that too many people have seen us while walking here. Some people gave us random items as payment for stuff."

"Yes Sire!"

"Stupid door open!"

"Sire," Pauline said, trying not to laugh, "if you call the door stupid, then it won't open."

He said something in Greek. "Even if you say it in Greek, the door won't open. We could just teleport in." she suddenly suggested, sounding like she not only wanted to be stealthy, but that she wanted to avoid breaking another innocent American door.

"Who knows what's in there? If we kick this thing down, then we'll startle people. Stand back." he said, and there was a crack.

"We're saved!" Darius shouted before Macalli Brenter could cover his mouth again. "He's here to save us! Sire! Sire! In here! Thank Zeus you're here! I was thinking that you would never come!"

"Cut it out Ackisan. I came, we came, to save you, not to hear you ramble."

"Alexander." Antipater said, gesturing with a hand. "You can see that Brenter, Tenner, and Gates are here."

"Yeah. We-" "Keep it quiet." Brenter said, stalking forward. "You've gotten me in a good mood, and I don't want you spoiling it."

"Why would you be happy?" Nakita asked. "You've got Darius and Antipater all tied up."

"I'll tell you. I didn't need to tie them up. This," he moved his arm around the hotel room, pointing at various objects, stopping at the door, "this is all I need."

There was a click and a swish. A glass panel slid down over the thick wooden door. "I have all of you right where I want you."

Alexander's palms began to glow. He stared the shorter man down with his blue-grey eyes. "Why do you want us here?"

"Oh, I wanted you here to get information. I was just about to begin when you burst in. The first question hadn't even escaped my mouth."

"What kinds of questions were you going to ask?" Aria asked. "What we wore to work every day?"

A cold laugh escaped the Secret Service man. "No, but that would be good to know. I actually wanted to get to know you, Sire." He pointed to Alexander with a teasing finger. Then, he turned back to Darius and Antipater. "How did Alexander manage to knock us out in Florida?"

"Piece of cake. Even the most uneducated, alienated-to-Greece fool knows that." Darius scoffed. "Zeus gave them to him as a gift last year."

"I heard, from, who was it, Zeki, that-" he stopped. "What do you know? He's here. About face!" he barked.

Zeki stepped forward to Alexander's side. "Since I am now under the King's protection, I'll tell you. What were you saying?"

"You sent a dispatch a few months ago that said that Alexander here has fought two additional wars, or parts of a war."

"Yes." Zeki said either flatly or tiredly. "He had fought Minondass twice last year in two series of battles. It's been named the Hellandric War."

"Back to these powers. What are they? What do they do?" Gates suddenly piped up. He came to stand beside Macalli, Vade following closely after. "Well, he can use his sword, which you have seen. He can teleport. He can-"

"Zeus damn you!" Tenner suddenly yelled. He rarely swore. Now, he did so out of frustration. "What else can he do!"

"He has mind control."

"Mind control." Bob laughed. "That's only possible in the movies. And in science fiction."

"Well," Zeki replied calmly, "Alexander's world is somewhat science fiction. As I was saying, his mind control comes from his eyes. When he looks at someone, he can read their thoughts and control them."

"That is impossible." Macalli sneered. "I have been trained to resist psychological torture. Counteracting that is a piece of cake."

"Oh really?" Alexander seemed amused, the way Ares would be if an ordinary boy tried to fight him. "If you can resist, then why are you not?"

Brenter looked confused for only a second. "What the hell do you mean? I am resisting right now."

Alexander chuckled. "Amusing that you think that. You think that you're so smart? You are not. I had planned that I let Antipater go with you. I knew that he was giving information to you. I wanted him to do so. I had told him right after I first met him that he could do whatever he thought was needed in order to make this happen. You and I, are right where I want you and me."

Bob snickered. "You wanted Antipater to be captured?"

"Yes."

He clapped in mock applause. "Good that you fulfilled that. What are you gonna do? Kill us? We are fully armed, and thousands of armed gunmen are in the city outside, waiting for you."

"No. I have my Companions to do that. And some eager Orlando volunteers."

"What the Hades?"

There was a flash, the sound of shattering glass, screams, and a familiar, satisfied, Macedonian conqueror's laugh.

"I guess," Pauline shouted, "you get to go to Florida after all, Nika."

12

4 months 11 days into Operation Resurrect

Time Bender Building, Orlando Florida

10:00 p.m California Time, 1:00 a.m Florida Time

Somebody fell onto a hard wooden floor, and there was a "What?" soon afterward.

She was standing, but wobbling, as she reappeared.

Pauline grasped someone's arm and felt a tingle run up her fingers and into her body. She would know him anywhere. "Where are we?"

"The Time Bender Building. Time Space Investigation Bureau." was the embellishment-free reply. "I know this place."

"Me too." Minondass's small voice came from someplace near their feet. "We appeared here. When Gates and Ema and the president first met us, we appeared here."

Sebrina said, "Ema's the redhead who Gates hired, works for the government, brought you here with her stuff?"

"Yeah. That's her. Wait." Aria sounded like she was thinking. "Where is Ema?"

There was a scream and rushing footsteps. Alexander revealed his blade and opened the door.

The redhead scientist was in tattered jeans and a green T-shirt. She looked haggard, as if she had stayed up all night for days working. There was a difference though. As she ran, there was the clinking of metal. Her ankles were chained together, and she was not running, but shuffling. Her wrists were tied together behind her back, and her mouth was stuffed with cloth, her whole head not including her hair wrapped tightly with a black bandana. There were several cuts, scrapes, and bruises on her body, from, as far as everyone could tell, when she had run into things while fleeing from whoever or wherever she was before she had come here.

"Is that you? Alexander? Minondass? Anyone!" Her voice was muffled because of her gag.

Aria put a hand on the woman's shoulder. Though Ema was ten years her senior, she looked as scared as a teenager who was in the same situation. Her training with the Secret Service had been tossed away in a matter of seconds. "Get away from me!" She tried to shake Aria off, but this time, Alexander reached for her hand too.

She stopped struggling. Her face was blank, but at the same time, it seemed as if her mind was racing. "Sire?"

"Yes. Look, I can tell that we all have something important to say. Do you know what's happened?"

"No! I've been here for weeks, all by myself. I've eaten almost nothing. They told me to stay there, and that if I left, they would find me!"

Nika asked, "Who's they?"

"Gates. Vade Tenner. Macalli Brenter." Her voice was a sponge soaked with hate. "He hit me. He threatened that if I tried to escape, he would know. I believed him!" she screamed. Abruptly, she began wrenching at her bonds. "He knew that I am not very strong. He knew that it wouldn't take very much to restrain me. Damn him." she said through teeth clenched in pain.

"We can help you. I can cut those. First, Zeki, take off her blindfold, and then her gag."

They cleared the way as Zeki came forward. He used the edge of a dagger to cut Ema's bandana blindfold off. He reached into her mouth and removed her gag. She stared at everybody, blinking crazily. "Zeki Mysterio," she said with respect. "So you found Alexander?"

"Yep. Also, apparently, I got caught up in his escapade too."

She was puzzled. "What escapade?"

"After Alexander appeared," Zeki explained, "he went to San Francisco to find Pauline Ugalde." He guided Pauline up to shake Ema's hand. "You're this back street astrophysicist, quantum physics, mechanics, and all things nerd scientist that Amon's raving about?"

Ema smiled. "Yes, yes I am. Go on Zeki."

"Anyway, he went to the city to get her, and Antipater let him know that Gates and Brenter wanted to capture him and convict him of treason. Somehow, they intercepted Darius, Athena, Achilles, and Odysseus."

"I should have known," Ema said scornfully. When Zeki looked hurt, she added, "I'm not mad at you. It's Brenter. I've known him ever since I first had an interest in serving my country. It all started fifteen years ago.

I had just been admitted to work for NASA. I was supposed to come up with ideas for space probes. I made plans for the Spaceshuttle missions. Later, I had helped make probes like Spirit and Opportunity in 2003, and later still, New Horizons in 2006. Those later projects do not matter, though.

I had made some drafts for parts of New Horizons, specifically the engine. I knew that if it was to be powered by traditional rocket fuel, you know liquid hydrogen and helium, then the fuel would weigh too much to be lifted off the ground. I decided that having a small ion-powered engine would be a great power source. In the rear end of the craft, I proposed that there should be some hydrogen that would be ionized by removing an electron. The ions would come out the back in a stream, and the push would propel the probe.

Unfortunately, Brenter, who was higher up in the independent agency hierarchy than me, scoffed at me. He said, "Ema Kelly. Young, green, Ema Kelly. Who would ever want to rely on such a new, such a science fiction-like, such an unreliable power source?" He had laughed at me, laughed! He had slapped the table, causing my drink to spill on my laptop. It was supposed to be waterproof, but no. The manufacturers were wrong. As a result, my drawings were gone. The next week, my paper hard copies were gone. I knew that he had destroyed them. Nobody else hated me enough. From that day forward, I kept all my work locked up. I only worked alone, and I had enough cash to hire guards to protect me and my drafts, in and out of NASA.

Somehow, old Brenter figured out a way around this. A year after New Horizons was launched, he had quit his NASA job to work in the Secret Service. He had spent two years protecting not the president, but the politicians in the House of Representatives. While there, he had gathered a following. He had told them his views on politics, his ways of dealing with many things: making friends, bribing allies, plotting against foes. He ended up being so popular amongst his fellows that he was given the name "Never Stopper Brenter." Never stopper." Ema laughed, almost gleefully. "That is pretty damn well fitting. After those two years, he began to work in the White House. After Obama became president, he became part of his guard. He was with him wherever he went, whether it be within the country or halfway across the world. Even after quitting, he somehow, always, somehow, found ways to contact me and gloat. "See, Ema?" he would say. "You are stuck in the basement at NASA, working feverishly on projects that will never be considered or tested, let alone carried out. Look at me. I am serving our country's leader, the first African American one too. Your work will never help the country. Ever. You can just pack up your things and go back to Sorulian City where you belong."

Alexander held up a hand. "You're from, there?"

"Yes. The equipment that I used to bring you here, I tested on animals and on myself. In one test, three years ago, I was brought there. The residents made me feel at home. Misty became my friend. I learned about pokemon that way. She had said to me, "You are young, confident, and beautiful. You would be the perfect trainer. Too bad your parents can't see What you've done."

As Ema recollected, her eyes filled with tears. "I am an orphan. I was born in 1986, and both my parents had gone to fight in the Gulf War, my dad being a fighter pilot, my mother a nurse. However, at some point, I had discovered that they had died there. Both, supposedly, were very brave. I tried to search for them in databases about that war, but their names never showed up."

"Maybe it's because they only included more famous people." Sevander suggested. "They can never talk about everyone."

"But my father was in our army's general's squadron. They just _have to have remembered him!" she shouted. "He fought so bravely. How can nobody know him?"

There was a laugh. It was not Alexander this time.

"You." She turned around, everyone else following.

"Yes." said Macalli Brenter. "It is very sweet of you, to tell them your dilemma. Sweet of you to tell them, when the answer is so obvious."

"Stop!" Leonardo yelled, his accent somehow making him sound very purposeful. "She has dealt with enough. You have captured her against her will, and now, against the Hellenic League's will. She is one of us now."

A streak of silver shot out of Leonardo's hand: A badge appeared around Ema's neck. Ema Kelly, Hellenic League Engineer, Diades' Assistant. Macalli's face contorted into an expression not of cold surprise, but one of rage. "You are taking her from us! The government! I can't believe that you would do something like that!"

"Actually," Alexander said cooly, not caring that Macalli looked mad enough to kill, "she was never yours. She had, as you probably know, went to Sorulian City several years ago. My people, or who would become my people, accepted her. They took her in, made her feel like she had a family. You only made her feel agony and pain. You made her go away to Sorulian City. You made her think that her job is not important and that it would not serve her country. Well, look, No Stopper Brenter."

The light-haired, dark-eyed, man lunged at Alexander, a pistol in one hand, a bayonet in the other.

As quickly as he had lunged, he stopped, knees bent. He turned to Ema. "You know, Ema," he said, tone coming in highs and lows that could only mean he was mocking her, mocking them all, "I know what you do not."

"What is that?" she said, words said through clenched teeth.

"I know what happened to your parents."

"What the hell do you know about them? You barely know me."

"I got rid of them. I was the one who erased them from your databases."

13

Time Bender Building

Ema exploded. "How could you!" she yelled. "How did you know about them?"

"It was quite easy. You must know that since I work with the president, I have access to information like who had fought in that war. I had friends who worked first-hand with enlistment papers."

"Why would you do something so unbelievably unpatriotic?" Pauline asked, aghast. "I thought that people who protected the president were supposed to sacrifice their lives in order to serve their country."

"Ema's father and I knew each other at some point. Xavier Kelly was my closest high school friend. His grandfather had fought in World War II, and he was very interested in the design of the weapons. I could not keep up with him. In college, he and I went our separate ways. He took a course in military history, and I pursued law enforcement. Before I entered NASA, in fact, I was a police officer in Richmond, Virginia. Eighteen years ago, I met Xavier again, and he offered me a job. "What kind of job?" I had asked.

"You're going to work at NASA."

I had laughed and walked away, but as promised, several weeks later, I was in Florida. Xavier and I worked together designing satellites. Then, you came." He pointed a finger at Ema, disgust slick upon it. "Before you came and Xavier left, we were closer than ever. When you entered the agency, everything turned sour. Your father wanted to, as he had called it, "Test my ideas in the field with all the variables possible included."

Before he left, however, something happened. He and I were working, as usual, when I noticed that he had walked out with my plans. I asked around, and I eventually found him in a conference room, flashing my work around. "This is brilliant," he was saying. "This will be perfect. This will help those guys in Operation Desert Storm no doubt." I had barged in, glanced at the papers only once, and realized that those were my satellite plans. He was taking credit for what I had done. I had stayed up for days drawing, calculating, consulting with colleagues, and he was being praised after one theft."

"He would never do something like that!" Ema yelled. "He was brave enough to fight in the Gulf War. Why would he do something like that?"

Macalli smiled. "Maybe, he wanted to fulfill his war dreams. He always blabbed on and on about how much he wanted to experience it for himself. Thanks to that meeting, he did. Six months later, he was in the Middle East."

"I always heard about how kind, considerate, and fun-loving my father was," Ema said, voice shaking, tears in her eyes again, "and I just know that he would never discredit you!"

"Well," Macalli said, brisk as a busy businessman, "he did discredit me. There's nothing you can do."

Ema sprang toward Macalli, fist outstretched. Almost languidly, he cut her hand wish the bayonet, jabbing her in the stomach with the pistol. She shook off the pain and elbowed him in the chest. He had not forgotten his training. He fired a round at Ema's chest.

It deflected.

A sword met Macalli's bayonet thrust, supposedly aimed at Ema's heart, making for a quick end, which she did not deserve.

Alexander was standing in Ema's place, the woman being behind him. He slashed at the knife. The sword was not harmed. Instead, it was cut in two.

Macalli stared at his useless hilt in confusion, then jumped back as he was nearly beheaded. He fired his pistol a second time, and this time, he saw what was happening to his shot. It was shattering in mid-air, like a piece of glass, the chards falling to the floor. "How the hell do you do that?" Ema shouted, seeing it too.

Alexander smiled, excitement pouring from him. "Something that zeus gave me. He knew that I had been shot with too many arrows, so why not be able to control them?" As he spoke, he used his sword to block the bullet, which ricocheted in a line so straight that it nearly hit Macalli's breast.

He was not finished yet. He pulled a second knife from his hand, but before Alexander could react, he pressed it to his ear. "Come in here," he said.

Who the Hades would use a phone in the middle of, of, whatever `s happening? Ema thought. Wow. "Bring reinforcements. It is only Alexander and his "soldiers."

Minondass, Leonardo, Darius, Zeki, and Antipater jumped forward, each holding not a sword, but a eighteen-foot-long sarissa. These were telescopic, and when in their smallest form, they were a mere two feet long. The hedge of spears advanced toward Macalli, who tried to back up, finding that the miniature phalanx could follow him. He sidestepped, only to find that the spears swung to meet him. He fired his pistol at each person in turn. Yes! He was glimpsing victory. Those shields do not stand a chance against a gun.

Ping. Ping. Ping. Like tiny tennis balls on concrete asphalt, the bullets bounced off the bronze shields. Alexander looked pleased. "The glories of bulletproof items. That isn't bronze. There are layers of kevlar, bullet proof glass, and bronze in all my soldiers' pieces of armor. Very affective, yes?"

"We don't want to know about your weapon design!" Vade Tenner's voice bellowed from somewhere close to Ema. "Fire!"

There were rapid clicks as bullets whizzed around everybody. Similar to what happened at the Sir Francis Drake hotel, Pauline felt a bullet come so close to her that she could feel the air parting before it brush her hair. Aristander and Aria pulled her, Nika, Sebrina, Nya, Nakita, Nellie, and Janis to the ground as the fire- and sword-fight raged around them. "How many reinforcements?" Nya shouted over the noise.

"Only twenty-five here," Aristander began to say, but there was a loud crack from the window beside her as it shattered. "Actually, there are about five times that number outside, so about 150 armed gunmen."

"Behind you!" Zeki shouted mid-thrust, as three men surrounded Aristander. She raised her hands above her head, and a wave of energy blasted the men back against a wall, straight into their fellows, about ten others. About half of them fell, but the remainder advanced on the soldiers so far unengaged.

Pauline felt somebody grab her shirt and begin to pull her down. She rammed her elbows and feet into his body as they fell onto the floor. I can't believe that I'm applying my self defense lessons. She scratched his face and arms, trying to roll them both over, so she would be on top of him. Something was tugging on her assailant's back. A Greek voice met her. "Get off her! Go to Hades, and never come back!" Roughly, Achilles pulled her to her feet. "They did a good job."

"Who did a good job?"

"Alexander and the rest of the guys. Everyone from the Secret Service is gone, for the moment anyway."

When the Trojan's attacker had finished, there were no shouts. It was quiet. There were no screams of falling Americans, war cries of blood-frenzied Macedonians, and not a note of the high-pitched, too-young for his age, shrill, spine-tingling voice of Alexander. Which was unlike him. "Where in the name," Achilles said, "is the King?"

"Alalalalai!" somebody replied.

Marching. Almost mechanical, rhythmic, perfectly timed, accurate to the beat.

Metal clinks, and singing.

"Alexander the Great,

His name strikes fear into hearts of men.

Alexander the Great,

Is still a legend amongst mortal men.

Alexander the Great,

His name strikes fear into hearts of men.

Alexander the Great,

Died of no fever in Babylon.

"Sarissas at the attack!" There he is, Pauline and Achilles thought. My friend. My King. Our King.

"Sound the paean!"

Guitar strings twanged. A throat cleared. Close by. Soldiers fell silent.

"Take my hand,

You know I'm in control.

And understand,

You should let me take my hold.

I've persuaded the most stubborn,

I've made brother turn on brother.

I want to hear your yes,

And I'll get it

That's mot a guess,

Let me speak, let me speak, let me speak."

Gasps filled the air, guns loaded, and some federal daggers were unsheathed. "No matter what he does, attack. Never defend. I sook that from Pressfield, and I see why it's useful. Lastly, as Alexander has said, "Kill the King!"

14

What was she hearing?

That was all Pauline thought as the battle raged close by.

Swords slashed. Bows fired. Sarissas found flesh and skewered it with ease. Everybody did one of two things: try to find and the King, or protect the King.

Both tasks were impossible. Alexander was throwing himself straight into harm's way, engaging whole files of men at once, while fending off a second. His armor flashed, though there was very little light. He was heard, even over the shouting voices of two opposing armies, cultures, countries, clashed around him.

There was a sharp pain in Pauline's side. She felt it to find that it was wet, and there was mo water near her. She felt for a familiar arm to grab, and she found it. It came down, and there was a scream.

It took one blow to fell the man that had tried to kill her. Alexander was pleased. He had come seconds before the man would have dispatched her with his bayonet. She may know military tactics, but she is not meant for battle. If her partner is slain, then she is hopeless. "Hey," he said, bending down, whispering in one ear.

"What is it Sire?"

"Even in this commotion, you can hear me?"

"Well you're an inch away from my face."

"Point taken." He turned around for a second, and Pauline heard a splat. "Anyway," he continued, "have you heard from Achilles, Zeki, or any of the others?"

"No. I don't think I would be able to hear any of them. They're not standing next to me. Where's Ema?"

"Fighting like Alecto," he smiled. "Doing pretty damn well, considering that she has no League training. I'm surprised. No one has succeeded in wounding her, and if anybody has, then she does not show it."

"It's 'cause she hates Macalli. I could hear it in her voice. She is exactly like that Danish billionaire,, Henric, from the Cotton Malone series, in Paris. She's thinking clearly, unlike Henric. They have something in common, though. Both had family members killed."

"Sire!" a messenger ran up to Alexander. "Aristander needs reinforcements. She is on the floor below us, near an elevator. She tried to escape, but the Service jammed it."

"On my way. If you can, take forty of your troops too, Peerclis." He addressed Pauline again. "You know what we did at the Sir Francis Drake?"

"What did you do again?"

"You know about when you were on my back?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to do that again. I'm wearing my cuirass, so all that you need to do is slip in between my back and the cuirass's back plate." He knelt, and she did what he had told her to do.

He stood, and they sprinted to Aristander's aide.

I always knew that Vade Tenner had fought in the Afghan war, but I didn't think I would see him do it here on American soil. Robert Gates watched as Vade shot Macedonian after Macedonian, looking for the unprotected parts, especially places right beside their armor. If he was surrounded, he would always find a gap. He would dart free, turn around, and shoot.

There were three things that troubled him. The first was the fact that he had not seen Macalli Brenter. He had only glimpsed him as he had charged into the fray at the beginning of the engagement. Could he be dead? No. Gates shook his head. He's our best guy. He can't be killed by these barbarians.

The second thing that worried him: the location of She had eyed Macalli earlier, and she looked very angry. She had taken a sword and shield from an officer and joined a phalanx's ranks. Who knows who she was fighting now? She could be sparring Macalli on the roof, for all he knew.

The last thing that worried him: where the Hades was Alexander? He was, supposedly, fearless to the point of recklessness. He was supposed to be seen at the forefront of the battle, risking his life alongside his men.

Where was he now?

Alexander jumped over a dueling American and a Torchick, who both looked up in confusion. Who could blame them? He landed and spotted a green and blue blade, flashing purple. "She's on our left. She does need reinforcements. Peerclis!" he shouted, and the squire and his men charged forward, breaking the lime of enemy infantry. Aristander broke free and dispatched her opponent, before turning to her King. "Happy that you found me." She glanced at Pauline. "Clever. Only you can pull that off, though."

He nodded. "I'm just wondering. Where's the rest of the EETA?"

"Probably fighting elsewhere Sire," said Peerclis. "Should I look for them and bring them here%"

"Yes. Go." Peerclis ran off into the fighting crowd. Rarely anyone was using guns, even the Americans. Knives and bows were more common than pistols. Pokemon burned, shocked, froze, drenched, and controlled their opponents until they could find a gap and strike the fatal blow. "How are we doing?" Pauline asked from her place sandwiched between his back and backplate.

"We are doing much better than I thought. We have 150 men, and the Secret Service has about 200. Our numbers are okay. The only reason why we are not slaughtering them is the fact that we do not know this building as well as they do. They have patrolled it for months, after all. We had arrived only a few days ago. Here they come." Leonardo, Minondass, Aria, Sevander, and the others approached. All had sustained minor injuries. "Where shall we meet Sire?" Minondass shouted.

"In there." Alexander pointed with his blade to a nearby office. Strangely, nobody had opened it yet, though it was in plain sight. They crowded in.

"How are your battalions?"

"Our casualties are lower than expected Sire," Aria said, sounding like she was reviewing money figures instead of soldier deaths. She was unperturbed by the battle raging outside. "The Service had 200 men, and about one in every five are dead, so forty."

"Your battle plan was flawless as usual Alexander." Sevander did not sound his age. He sounded almost more mature than his superiors. "It was simple and affective.

"I have noticed something," Zeki said, clearing his throat and standing. "I have not seen Macalli Brenter and Ema Kelly. From the reports that I have read, it seems that the is fighting in Ptolemy's third regiment, second company. Doing very well. Great in close quarters."

"Where was she reported to be seen in your last report?"

"Sire, she was seen going into the Appearance Room." The Appearance Room was the informal name that had been given to the place where they had all appeared. "She was alone. She had a short-sword and a pistol. Looked very pissed, I mean, so pissed that she could kill anybody that she saw."

Alexander was not surprised. "I know why she is there. Only Zeki, Pauline, and I must go into that room. You must wait outside. No master what happens, you do not go in. Understand?"

After a short pause, there a chorus of eager "Yes Sires!" from Alexander's closest generals.

Pauline climbed onto his back again, and Zeki followed close behind them, the rest of the generals behind him at a distance.

At first, Pauline was thinking, what the hell will Ema Kelly do? Then, she thought about how she had been seen going into the Appearance Room, where the equipment that had been used to detect the signals that brought Alexander into her world had been detected, where contact had first been made.

No. She could never think of doing that.

Alexander opened a door, and he, Zeki, and herself stepped inside. Everybody else obediently stayed outside.

"Thank you for coming, Sire." said a calm voice from off to their left, near the desk where the legendary computer sat, undisturbed by the battle.

There were some clicks, like a mouse button being pressed, and sharper clicks: the keyboard's keys being pressed.

The felt a surge of energy and emotions that did not even apply to the situation flood her. There were yells from outside: Minondass, Aristander, Aria, Sevander, Leonardo, and Lisa. There were footsteps, and the shrieks of Janis, Nakita, Nellie, Nika, Sebrina, and Nya soon followed. How they had managed to find them was a mystery that did not require solving.

Gates felt energetic for some reason. He felt conflicting emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, joy, grief, mixed with a tint of something else. Freedom. He was wounded from several bullet shots, whose pain he could feel magnify as his feelings swelled. Even though he was hurt, he felt free. He raised his hands, and the feeling swept at him and for him with inviting hands.

Pauline felt liberated. She felt pain, but it seemed to travel away, like a car driving in the opposite direction as herself. She was joyous somehow. The battle was being fought only several feet away, and she was filled with bliss.

The bliss took her by the hand. It wrenched her away from Alexander, and the tingle of energy that came from his skin vanished. She did not resist. She did not want to resist. If Ema caused this, she thought, then it must be for a good reason.

She was gone. Alexander, Zeki, everybody, was gone.

15

Mt. Olympus, Greece, 8:00 p.m, 3:00 a.m California Time

Zeus stared at Diades Symoniki, Alexander's engineer. The man's fair skin and short-cut brown hair seemed to be made for his job. Both were clear, concise, and well-placed, like bolts or anchors on a bridge.

They stared at a video monitor. A battle raged across the screen, Secret Servicemen and Hellenic League soldiers clashing. "I can't believe that they did it." Diades said after a moment. "They found him, and as you predicted, they're chasing him. It's exactly like the people here. I guess humans from other universes are more similar than I thought."

Zeus inclined his head. "This is why I allowed him to go. Nobody else could have pulled it off, or rather, no one else could have handled this so easily."

Diades glanced back at the screen again. There was a flash, and blurs danced across the screen. The screen flickered. "What the Hades?" he muttered. "From the electronic readings that the King has sent to me, their equipment is EEG stuff, radio wave detectors, and some other things. It's like ours, except bigger and with less power. Their batteries are not as efficient, and they cannot detect pokemon energy."

"Did the pokemon energy cause that?" Zeus asked, pointing at their flickering image.

"No. Somebody there sent an electromagnetic or electric pulse into the area, and that contacted some pokemon energy, either from our equipment or our guys. That warped space, if not time, and that transition made our camera go dead."

"Where are they?"

"Well, our stuff is in Pallet, so they are, most likely, there."

Pallet Town, 2:50 a.m

Pauline unclasped her arms and legs from around Alexander, and she landed on her feet. Confused talk came from all around her, Macedonian and Greek accents mixed with rough American ones. Almost no one actually knew what had happened. The generals knew what had happened though. Footsteps headed their way. "You brought us here?"

Ema nodded. "It was the only way that I could think of in order to level the playing field. You know this place better than anyone else."

Alexander signaled for her to stop. "I can not believe that I am saying this, but I need back-up. We need a second general, no, a third, since Minondass is already a general."

"Sire," Nika said, falling into the League's protocol, "all the generals can't leave their units. We need to find one."

Pauline laid a hand on Alexander's back, and he turned. "Who do you suggest?"

"Ulysses S. Grant."

"What the Hades?"

"He was the Union's general during the Civil War. He didn't win many battles at the beginning, but he beat Robert E. Lee in the end. He actually went to California. You and I can go get him."

Alexander tugged her hand. "Okay. Minondass, Aria, and Aristander shall command the troops while we use our equipment to go back to the Civil War. It should not take long, assuming that Grant will comply."

They rushed through town until they reached a house on their street. He knocked on the door, and Professor Oak answered. "What is it Sire?"

"We need to use the Televerse." Without batting an eye, Samuel Oak nodded. A minute later, he brought a machine the size of an arcade game console outside. Alexander typed in a date: April 9, 1865, the day that Lee had surrendered to the Union at Appamattox Courthouse, ending the war. Ulysses S. Grant would need to fight in another war, 150 years after his own.

Appamattox Courthouse, Virginia, April 9, 1865, 5:00 a.m

"Well, when historians said that Lee was well-dressed, and Grant was mud-splattered, they were not kidding." The two of them stood outside a door, half open. Inside the room beyond, two men stood staring at each other, one in a blue uniform and another wearing grey: the Union and Confederate colors.

"I will allow your men to go home as long as they swear by God that they shall not fight again. They may keep their weapons, and my generals and I shall give your men food."

The grey-clad man nodded. "Thank you, Grant. For a Yank, you are pretty damn generous." They stood and grasped hands. "You know," said the blue-uniformed soldier, "I feel like I have seen you. Back in Mexico City. We both helped take it, and I met you."

The man in the grey uniform, Robert E. Lee, shrugged. "All I know is that I surrender to you now, and that this is the first time I have seen you."

Grant turned toward the door, where he met Alexander's confused and amazed eyes. He stared back. He looked him up and down, examining his chiton and his purple cloak. "Who the hell are you?"

Alexander and Pauline came in, and Alexander held out a hand. "I am Alexander Alae Amon, commander of the Hellenic League. I know that you will ask what that is, and who I am, and I will explain momentarily. The Hellenic League is an army formed out of not soldiers from one country, but from many countries, similar to the Union or the Confederates and their men from different states. Right now, we fight a war for our existence. We need your help, you and your men's help, in order to do this."

"Where are you from? Where is your army? Why should I help you? I'm in the middle of a war right now. Why would I fight another one?"

"I am from Pella Macedonia, in Europe. Before we get too far in the proceedings, I must say that I am the very famous and well-known general Alexander the Great." Grant gaped at him again. "Where I come from, the dead can live again. It is a century and a half in the future, 150 years after this war began."

"To American historians, students at West Point, and schoolchildren, it will be called the Civil War." Pauline added, and Grant and Lee both looked at her. "Pauline Ugalde. In your time, you may know that Dorthea Dix has helped improve the way people in prison and who are mentally ill are being treated, and blindness may be one cause that she's helping. I am unable to see. I have joined the Hellenic League in order to serve not only the United States, but all of the other countries in it. 150 years after you leave this house, the Union will still exist, but the South will be apart of it too. You will be called the United States once again. Lee, you accepting Grant's terms of surrender allowed slavery to be outlawed, and in the future, it remains outlawed."

"A woman?" they both said. Despite their major differences, they were both very confused. "You are supposed to be at home housekeeping, not marching with armies." said Lee.

Pauline thought for a moment. Should she tell them? If we are going to be allied with these two, then I must tell them. They would find out soon enough anyway. "In the 1960s, 100 years from now, women and blacks will be given the right to vote alongside white men. It would not matter if you owned slaves or land. You would only need to be a legal citizen and at least eighteen years old. The president is still there, and he is African American. He is the first black president."

"To think," Lee remarked a little coldly, "the negroes who work our fields now will have rights like us."

"Yes," Alexander continued. "As I was saying, the Hellenic League is based in the United States, in California to be exact, in Pallet Town." When neither general showed signs of recognition at the sound of Pauline's and Alexander's adopted home town's name, they did not appear surprised. "There is one more thing I must tell you," Alexander explained, stepping forward. "Come on out everyone!"

Nine flashes lit the room: Azelf, Turtwig, Milotic, Exeggcute, Espeon, Pachirisu, Andelexrae, and Bronzor. The newest member of Alexander's team, Oshawhatt, came out last. He had traveled to the Unova region and received his starter pokemon from Professor Juniper, his first Unova pokemon. All nine stared around them, gazing first at their trainer, then at the two Civil War generals.

Azelf was the first one to react. She stiffened, and then she dropped to her knees, eyes fixed on Ulysses S. Grant. "You, you are," she stammered. "Grant." she managed to say.

The man seemed as shocked to see her as she was to see him. "What, who, are you?"

"That is one species of pokemon that live in our world," Pauline expounded what Alexander had begun. "They are like normal animals, except they have abilities that normal animals will never have and can do things that an animal will never be able to do. There are over 600 different species, each with their own characteristics."

"Why did they travel with you?" Lee asked. "Are they-"

"I know what you are gonna say, and they are not slaves. They fight for the trainer, the trainer's personal army, you could say. The pokemon trainer takes care of their pokemon: feeding them, sending them to a pokemon center, a kind of hospital, if they are sick, teaching them attacks to use in battles against other trainers. Pokemon, in a way, travel with their trainer of their own freewill, but they do not live outside."

"They live in one of these." Azelf took a pokeball off her belt and gave it to Pauline, who passed it to the nearest general. Once again, their countries' differences disappeared for a moment as they both explored the pokeball. "So light, and so small, small enough to carry, pokemon," Grant used the word as if it were either a taboo or a word in a foreign language, "so much larger than itself."

Azelf tapped the pokeball. "When one of us goes inside, we are transformed into energy, not energy like that in a fire or from an earthquake, but pure energy. We remain conscious, aware of what is around us, and mirrors, magnets, and lights help us stay in this energy state. When Alexander called us out, his voice activated the pokeball, and it turned us back into matter again."

"Alexander," Lee put forward briskly, "what were you about to say?"

"There is one more difference between your time and ours. The United States government had made an agency called NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which sent men and women into space in order to explore the universe around us. The government thought that the agency was out of date, so they have discontinued it, and in its stead, they have created the Time Space Investigation Bureau, whose members study theories like the origins of the universe. Our Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has created a device which searches for parallel universes, universes like or unlike this one. I am not from this universe, so they found my comrades and I, but Gates sent men after us, who wanted to bring us back to Washington D.C to accuse us of treason. I went to Sanfran Cisco and found Pauline and her friends, and afterward, we traveled across the country, seeking refuge. We eventually arrived in Florida, where the Space Time Investigation Bureau is located, and we fought the president and his men. One scientist by the name of Ema Kelly, sent us back to my universe, where and when we decided that we needed generals like you. The government that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson worked so hard to make is attacking its citizens unjustly, and we need dedicated Patriots to help us. Please Grant. You are among some of my favorite generals and people, and what you did for your country, well, your half of the country, will have greater affects than they seem to have now. You will allow everybody to have equal rights, even freed slaves and women. You made the United States greater than you could ever imagine. I need a general like you to round off my army."

Grant stood still and thought for several moments. Alexander the Great was such a success, while the Greyback next to him had invaded the Union and futilely, tried to assert his command. He may have dedicated men, but they were smart enough to know that he was stubborn, proud, and not the brightest man. He shook Alexander's hand first, then each of his pokemon in turn, and at last Pauline's, whose fingers felt every callus and scar on his hand. He leaned to whisper in her ear, but she recoiled. "I always heard about how unsanitary army camps were, and I never thought that those claims were true. Now, I know that they're true. As soon as this is over, you need to bathe, Sir."

"Unconditional Surrender" Grant smiled, the first smile that had appeared in a very long time, forgetting that the girl who was holding his hand could not see that. He stepped back. "You will be a fine soldier, for a lady."

"You shouldn't call me a lady. I'm not that proper." Pauline's voice changed from being playful to being serious. It took only an instant. "Sire," she said to them both, "we must go. The others will be waiting."

Lee turned to Grant. "I hope that you shall serve your half of the country as dedicated as, it seems, that historians have called me incompetent."

Grant shook the Johnny's hand again. "Thank you. When you go outside, tell my men that I shall be in my quarters for a while."

"You don't need to." Oshawhatt pointed outside, where thousands of men watched the meeting through windows. They had heard the whole thing, all the 100,000 that were there. Alexander turned to them all. Some men saluted with their rifles. "You may all come. Your general, Grant and I, need all of you."

"Hurrah!" they yelled.

Pauline typed in their destination: Pallet Town, and men crowded around them. "Prepare yourself Sir," she said to Grant. "You will fight a war that shall rival all others: before, now, and after today, or rather, before, during, and after 150 years from now, in the year 2011, in the town of Pallet, where not Johnnies and Yanks fight, but Hellenists and Federals."

16

4 months 2 weeks days into Operation Resurrect

Pallet Town California, 2:00 p.m

Macalli Brenter felt the bullet tear into his left arm. Blood ran down his already-exhausted frame, and he clamped the injured arm to his side. He reached for his pistol, but two shots greeted him. "You said that I couldn't shoot!" The voice. It was female. High. Nervous, but determined.

Brenter turned to face the voice. "Ema, you have cornered me. You have shot me. What will you do? Will you make me like Ashby? Will somebody invade upon your endeavor?"

"No. There is no Sam Colins or Megan Morison; but, there is a Cotton Malone, and like him, he will be here soon. I want to finish this." Ema cocked her gun and stared at him with cold eyes. "You know that yku only have three round s left." Brenter said bluntly.

She shrugged. "It does not matter. The gun is only for show, and for preliminaries."

"What do you mean?"

"This."

A rush of water knocked Brenter back. "What the hell?"

She smiled, lowered the gun, and tossed it aside. "I know pokemon moves. Hydro Pump. Strong and affective."

Brenter fired a shot at the ground before Ema. A stream of bubbles swept it out of harm's way. "Bubble Beam." she said as if telling him about the various moves pokemon could learn in a classroom instead of using them against him. She ran forward and turned into a blur. If what I have seen is right, Brenter thought, that is Quick Attack. He stepped aside only to find that a mass of flesh and bone met him and tackled him. He fired his gun a second time. It flew only inches away from Ema's chest. He cursed. How does she avoid a bullet? I aimed it squarely enough, and she avoided it, and she did it by lying on top of me too.

He figured out that using what he had been taught would nos he had to escape, and if help him. He had to escape, and, if possible, he had to eliminate Ema before the Cotton Malone of the League arrived. When Alexander arrived, he was doomed.

He fired his last bullet.

This one hit its mark.

Ema winced as Brenter's bullet struck her face. Blood trickled into her mouth. She held back her urge to vomit, and focused on Brenter. He had no bullets, only his dagger. I must do this right. If I am going to n" this, I must do it right.

She relinquished her hold on him, and as soon as she let go, Brenter whipped out the dagger. He stabbed at her chest, and she parried it. She used her other hand to grab his wrist. Even though he was experienced, as Ema had expected, Brenter dropped the weapon. As he bent to retrieve it, she elbowed his neck. He gagged and struck at whatever part of her he could reach. She dismissed the pain in her legs and kicked his chest.

He emerged from his stillness, using both hands to grab her foot. She fell on her back, head hitting the pavement.

She saw stars, but she applied her training. She wrenched her ankle and foot free and stood again. Brenter stood up too, holding his knife.

She turned her thoughts into the words that Alexander had shouted to her: "Block! Keep your blade close to your chest, and make your movements fast, crisp, and sharp."

No hands met. She could not grab Brenter's hilt, and he could not grab hers. Only blades met, each blow feeling harder hit than the last. She needed an opening, a place where she could strike the final blow. She could do it for as long as she needed, but she did not want to prolong this. She too did not want Alexander coming. This was her business. He must respect that she could fight her own fights and defeat her own foes.

At last, the opening came. She thrust her dagger past his arm, cutting it again, this time a deep gash. He clamped his arm to his side tighter, pinning it in place. She yanked it free and continued, and this time, he did not resist.

Brenter felt Ema's blade lacerate his arm, the one that was already injured. He pressed his arm against his side, holding the dagger in place.

Epa pulled it loose and lunged toward his chest.

The dagger disappeared. Ema held empty air, not a knife intent on slaughtering him.

He saw a sheen emit from Ema/s clenched fist. It formed the shape of her knife.

Pain followed. He shut his eyes and tried to clear the fog from his brain.

Nothing worked. He began to lose consciousness. No, that was not what he was losing. He began to feel tired and expectant. His body did not bound back.

A second knife of pain entered his mind. This pain was not physical, not exactly. He tried to focus on what it was, but the more he did, the more it hurt. "Yes, Macalli. You finally know what Antipater, Ema, Zeki, what they had all said about me."

He tried to reply. That voice. Who the Hades was that? "I know that you know who I am. Do not bother saying it. I know that you wanted to get rid of her. I knew that she wanted to get rid of you. I will allow her to do so. She can fight her own fights. Like or unlike Cotton Malone, I can let my officers and friends alone. I cannot do that for you."

"Alexander?"

A chuckle chilled him. He tried to ignore him. He could not ignore him. That voice got inside his head, invaded his thoughts. It exposed his weak points, showing which parts of his brain could pay attention to him. "Sad, is it not? You keep saying that you are trained to withstand psychological torture. If you can do so, show me." An expectant snicker followed.

You are imagining this, Brenter told himself. Ema can not know about this. She can not read my mind too. She is not that powerful.

"Actually, I can. I will not interfere. If the King wishes that you die, than I agree. You have sent brave Hellenic League soldiers to Hades, all without payment for Charon. Now, you will know how they felt."

"Ignore them. It will stop. I am serving my country, and that is all that matters."

A different voice intruded upon the three of them. "Even I admit that Robert E. Lee served his Johnnies better than you served your Yanks." It was an American voice. He saw an image before his inner eye: a man in a blue uniform, walking down a quiet Pallet Town street. "I know what it is like to serve in a war where artillery reigns down upon every square inch of the battlefield. I do not know how it is like to fight a war between pokemon with pistols, and trainers with mind control and the power to create fire from thin air."

"You are Ulysses S. Grant. You can't have allied yourself with these barbarians."

A wave of anger broke over their mental theater of war. A cold laugh filled their shared space. "You call _me a barbarian?"

"Your ancestors were herders who ran from the slightest battle."

"This comes from the man who stands behind an army of thousands, shouting to be brave, while not doing that himself. You have not led armies. I have led four armies."

The image in Brenter's mind changed. He saw a man, surrounded in yellow, white, and blue bolts of energy. He could feel the electricity cause his hair to stand up. The thrust of foreign thought redoubled its efforts, and he tried to block them with a swarm of random thoughts, which were all blasted aside.

He opened his eyes. Nothing had changed. He was not sure how he could open his eyes. He did not care. The gash had not killed him.

He saw the man, surrounded in power, Ulysses S. Grant, and Ema.

This was not a mental picture. This was real.

He stared at the trio. Ema stepped aside, and Grant lifted a repeat rifle from his holster.

"Macalli Alexander Brenter." the gun's owner said.

He started at the sound of his middle name. "How did you all know?"

Alexander spoke now. "How could I not? Your mind is not as protected as you think. Within the thoughts that you used to block me, that was present."

"What will you do: kill me?"

The generals nodded. "We will make it quick. One shot, one Thunderbolt, and you will be dead." said Grant.

Brenter glanced at Ema. Her eyes were filled with hate, pleasure, and satisfaction. "They will finish you much faster than I."

"I assume," Brenter told Grant, "that you know of my supposed crimes." Grant nodded. "I also suppose that you will not object to what this barbarian son of Zeus says?" Grant nodded again. "He has led more men than I have seen in battle. He has powers that God has given him for the purpose of serving his country and administering justice, no matter how it shall be administered. The Founding Fathers would be pleased, if not being a little disturbed."

Brenter sighed. He folded his hands before his chest. "Do what you may. As Lee has said, rather than surrender to you, he would "rather die a thousand deaths."

A single bullet fired into the man's chest, straight at his heart. A bolt of lightning loosed itself from Alexander's clenched fist. It wrapped itself around Brenter, squeezing the life from him. The snake of power entered his body: his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, seeking energy. It pulled it out again, and it continued to burn him.

Brenter remained standing until he had been burned down to the bone. At last, he fell with a clatter.

Now, he was gone, not the League men.

Grant shouted "Hurrah!" Ema yelled, "At last, you are with the men who wanted you dead."

Alexander screamed "Alalalai!"

With that, the trio left the body to rot. He could not even be buried. The Founding Fathers, the Hellenic League, and the others who had fought here, had been given their payment. Forever.

Epilogue

1 month after Operation Resurrect

Pallet Town California

9:00 p.m

"What you doing?"

"Sire, please. I have the right to privacy as much as you do."

Alexander spread his hands. "Fine, but what you reading?"

"This is the theory that I wrote."

"The book one? What was it?"

"It's called the Author Bridge Theory. I finished it, but i deleted it soon after. Wonna read it?"

"Sure."

The Author Bridge Theory

1. Any and every written work that is not entirely nonfiction and which has been written down, by an author known or unknown, shall exist in a world, self-contained and separate from all others.

2. Whenever an author writes a story that is not all entirely nonfiction, they create this kind of universe. All of the events written, spoken, or otherwise mentioned in their story or series will happen. J. K. Rowling's books and their characters are within their own world, and all events which happened have occurred there.

3. When an author does not write, the inhabitants (people or otherwise) will repeat the so-far written events in their world until new material is added.

4. When a single book has been completed, and no sequel is necessary to story completion, then the world disappears. If a sequel is written at a later date, then all of the events in the whole book repeat until any part of the sequel is written. After this happens, the sequel's events are included in the repetition. The same happens to a whole book series.

5. If an author specifies that a world has different geography, laws of physics, or other characteristics that differ from the world that they exist in, then these things will happen in their world. Magic or any other technology, phenomena, or other occurrences that do not happen in the author's home world are included.

6. Somehow, if inhabitants of other worlds meet, then they are not limited by the laws of physics or any other physical, psychological, mental, or other limits of the world that they have visited unless they are specified. For example, if a person is not limited by gravity in their home world, then when they visit other worlds, then they are not limited by this unless there are precautions, rules, or natural laws set in place to prevent affects of this kind.

7. The world that I exist in: where dinosaurs are extinct, there are no ways so-far discovered to break the laws of physics, technological advances or setbacks that involve undiscovered or undeveloped technologies have not occurred, or any and every other limit or liberty that exists in books do not exist, is called the Central Universe. When referring to other worlds, it is named after either its main attribute, its habitants, or, in the case of books like Harry Potter, its most famous habitant.

8. If and when a person, creature, or any other being, intelligent in known ways or not, discovers a method to travel to other universes (such as worm holes, teleportation, or any other methods), then it can, with certainty, be used to transcend their world's borders and travel to, or bridge, worlds.

9. Inhabitants of worlds other than the Central Universe subconsciously know their author, their whereabouts, and what they are writing. Once they find out that they know this, they are able to act independently without their author's intervention. This may lead them to finding their author.

10. By the way, as a note of caution, most likely, whatever an author writes, he or she will have very, very little, if not no, control over who or what they have written.

"Is that all?"

"I meant to fine-tune it, but I never did. I became afraid of my theory, so I deleted it. I found it, and I modified it, and what you see is the most recent version."

"What you said about the inhabitants of worlds knowing their author is true. That was how I was able to find you."

"I only thought that this was some crazy talk."

Alexander laid a hand on Pauline's. "Maybe, it is not as crazy as you used to think."

Pauline and her friends had entered into service in the Hellenic League a month before, only hours after the battle of Time Bender was fought. With help from both presidents of the United States and Alexander, two cemeteries had been built: one outside of Orlando in front of the Time Bender Building, the other in Pallet. It was the third grave that had been built, the first two built in June and December of 2010 respectively.

"You know, at first, I thought that the Hellandric War had ended in June of 2010. Then, I changed my mind and talked about how it ended in December of last year. Now, well, for now, I feel that it ended today. The two executive branches signed the Pallet-District Act, which makes us allies. I only hope that it holds."

"I agree Sire." The phone rang. "Nika, I am with the King. We're talking about deep philosophical things. I'll let you know when I want to come over, or rather, the King will let you know."

"You ditched her to hang out with me?"

"For two and a half years, I ditched my normal life to hang out with you. I can do so for a few more minutes. Did you finish meeting with the Apple embassy?"

"Yes, yes I did. Cool guys. Name was Chris."

"I met an Apple person named Chris. He works with the Mac Books and the iPad."

"He was the head envoy. He allowed us to buy some computers and iPods and that kind of thing from them for half price for business or pleasure, whichever one we wanted. Both Apple companies are working together to try to get our technology to your world. You guys will be so advanced. You won't be as advanced as us though."

Pauline chuckled. "I know that Sire."

"Alexander." he corrected.

"Alexander. My world does not have pokemon either."

"That too will change soon. Professor Oak is trying to bring some species, you know like Pikachu and Charmander, to your national reserves. He is in charge of them too. He's gonna make sure that they are healthy. Maybe they will live with the normal animals. Maybe not. Only the gods know what will happen." Alexander laughed. ;Actually, all of the Greek gods are clueless of what will happen. Demeter is very annoyed. Says that the pokemon will ruin that part of her domain. A little mad to be honest."

"How is the Alexandrian Science Academy?"

"The ASA? Awesome. Ema is head of that. Their work is being taken seriously now. Your scientists are crediting us now. Same with the military. Your Air Force, Marines, and everyone else is training with our equipment. We will always be better however. That's just natural."

"True." The phone rang a second time. "Nika? You know that I was gonna call you saying that Pauline was coming over right?"

There was some snickers from Nika's end of the phone. "Sorry Alexander. We're all excited. They're showing some Companions on the History Channel. Adam Usnitch is here too, and he's filming right now. It's Rocky and Maria's episodes."

Alexander jumped up. "Okay. we're on our way."

He pulled pauline to her feet and flicked a hand. She felt at her clothes. "You put them on me?"

"Yeah. You didn't know that I could do that?"

"I knew Sire. Sorry. Let's go."

They ran out of the tent, men shouting to them. "How's it going?"

"Zeki, you should be drilling the 1st D.C Division."

"Yes Sire!"

"Alexander, Ptolemy lost his iPhone 4 again."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know Alexander."

"Well now I'm getting lost."

"Good evening to you Alexander." A man in a blue chiton approached and joined them.

"Grant, whoa. That is a cool remake of that uniform. Brazion did a good job."

"Yes she did Sire. Where are you going?"

"Nika's house." said Pauline. "Want to come?"

"I am done filing my reports and leading the 7th Civil Division in drills."

"You can come."

As the trio approached Nika's house, they could hear laughter and loud music. Alexander cocked his ear to the sounds. "The result of our conquest,

we've come so far,

Is to stand on the shore of the world and we are.

So far unbeaten and your leader's unmatched,

Will you settle for the normal or one who has

Seen so much and who's proudly moved to a divine spot

Will you follow me or not?"

"What's that?" Pauline asked.

"The song Result. Written by Iskander the Epic, also known as Minondass, Aria, Aristander, and myself."

"You are in a band?" she shouted.

"Yes, yes I am. I can tell you about it some other time. Oh, it's Minondass's song now."

As they stepped onto the doorstep, Aria yanked the door open. Music came from behind her, and Pauline could hear singing.

"Is this a dream

Is this a sign from the Fates?

Does this really mean that I will do what Ketchum did?

I always knew that this would happen to us

No matter what people said.

I watched Diamond and Pearl

I play Black and White

Whatever my moves

I am always right

I've played all the games

I know all their names

But thank you falling fortune."

Once inside, everybody stood or sat around a long table. Everybody held a glass. Alexander stood and tapped his. "I would like to propose a toast." His officers and soldiers fell silent. "This toast shall include everything that has happened: during my time, the Civil War, the Renaissance, and every other time that the Hellenic League has had an influence. To war, to religion, to friends, to leaders, to glory."

"To war, to religion, so friends, to leaders, to glory!" the guests shouted, clinking glasses.

Aristander Telmizzen Esteron

Excerpt from _The _Amonniad, book seven

They all knew what he meant. War had caused the Hellenic League's formation and Calesthenes' fall. Religion made the acceptance of the Greek gods in both worlds possible. Olympian temples are being built in Pauline's home universe every day.

Friends: they were how Alexander found out about new recruits, hired officers, found contacts, and did other parts of the League's business. It made a bond that Alexander could reinforce with his own charisma and strength.

Leaders: everybody there had been complete strangers, and some were dissimilar to the point that they were polar opposites. Thanks to their king's effort, he had helped them coalesce into an army who could win any battle. Alexander himself had, in the past year, proved himself a valiant warrior, cunning politician, brilliant philosopher, and open-minded scholar. He had become more versatile than he was back during his own time.

Glory: that was what Alexander had fought for back in his original days. He had wanted fame, just like Achilles, and it had been given to him. After the second siege of Tyre, he had seen it himself. Half a year later, he saw it again. He saw that everybody, regardless of what universe they were from, knew him and recognized him, in a positive way or negative way, it did not matter. Glory had been given to his officers, from the EETA to the lowest private. They had all experienced what it was like to be their leader.

That had happened over the last year had impacted twelve billion people, as many pokemon, and 2000 years of history, not in one universe, but two. He could claim to rule an empire that was larger and more diverse than any other, even the Romans and British.

Lastly, Alexander had impacted his own life, especially his criminal record. He had been convicted of hundreds of armed robberies and assaults on police officers in his world, but all of the officers involved had been found guilty as they had all aimed a gun or thrown a pokeball at him only because he was Alexander the Great. Both judicial branches had worked together to clear his name and have all officers who had accused him of his false crimes arrested. That was what made Alexander and us most proud along with making the alliance. Now, Alexander will not be known as a criminal. At least until he commits more offenses.

Here and now, I end my account of the first year of the Hellenic League's history and the history of its leader, Alexander Alae Amon. My King has done so much during the past two years that I could not include it all here. I have written all that has been mentioned to the best of my ability and with the best information possible. If anyone finds any discrepancies anywhere within these pages, they have the right to call me a lying, fact-twisting barbarian. As for Alexander's accounts? I can say with absolute certainty that they are all fact. He does not desire to lie about his own campaigns, from 2000 years ago or from 2011. He wishes to make himself a new name, and this is part of doing that.

The treatise _The _Author _Bridge _Theory has been printed with Pauline Ugalde's permission. What she has said in this account is true as well.

You may ask: how do I feel at finishing this series? I cannot tell you, or rather, to put it another way, I do not need to tell you. Only look around you, and you will see Alexander's impact: he brought tea and sugar to Europe, indirectly causing the Tea Act, Boston Tea Party, the writing of the Declaration of Independence, American Revolution, and writing of the Constitution. He has brought Greek language, art, music, and science to us personally. He has brought pokemon to other worlds, worlds where new trainers can receive badges and ribbons.

What will happen after I lay down my pen? I do not know. Even the gods are holding their breath. As Alexander has said, "There are no more worlds to conquer." Actually, Sire, there were two worlds to conquer, and in the future, I can say with no doubt and with great resolution, that there will be many more worlds to ..


End file.
